Friday, August 1, 2008, 9:47 PM
Terrorism Part 2
Today would be on the contexts of Terrorism
Rather than look at the different types of definitions, it may be better to look at how Terrorism morphs over the different fields of Human Order
Conflict- We are looking at it in terms of conventional conflicts. Areas like commando units, when unleashed, the methods they use sometimes look a lot like terrorism. An example is Major John Anderson, a "commando" of the Federal Army in the American Civil War, he didnt wear a uniform, nor did he fight by the accepted norm. In guerrilla wars, they may use terrorist tactics to scare their opponents into submission. There are also examples like the bombing of Stalingrad by Hitler/ Goering's Luftwaffe and the bombing of Dresden by RAF and USAF of that time. You should thus realise that the definition of terrorism also changes with the nature of conflict.
Political power- Labelling opponents as "terrorists" can have profound impacts and results. Citizens seem willing to accept "abuses" of government power when a conter-terrorist programmes is ongoing. Hence, terrorists dont enjoy the same humanitarian priveleges as people
Repression- Some governments routinely use repression to keep domestic populations in line. This is where it can exist in political strutures as leaders use secret police forces to maintain power- Joseph Stalin, Hitler, Saddam etc.
Religion- In recent years, religion has played a more significant role in the process of terrorism. Religious terrorism can center round 3 main sources. 1st- Some groups may feel the need to purify the world to herald a new epoch. 2nd- Some may feel they are chosen and so destroy others in the name of righteousness. Finally, other people may become so consumed in their cause that they create a surrogate religion and take violent action to advance their beliefs
OTHERS: Technological Terrorism- This can come as weapons of mass destructions. Cyberterrorism- This can come as computer attacks, viruses or destruction of an information structure. Narcoterrorism- Drug organisations frquently use terrorist tactics and some terrorist organisations use drugs to finance their operations
Note that context is everchanging...
