Terrorism Causes, Effects, And Remedies

Running head: THE CAUSES, EFFECTS, AND SOLUTIONS OF TERRORISM 1

Terrorism: Causes, effects, and Remedies

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TERRORISM: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND REMEDIES 2

Terrorism: Causes, effects, and Remedies.

The beginning of 21

century apparently ushered in a new phase of terrorism. The events

following the start of the new century have demonstrated that terrorism is not a 21

-century

phenomenon but has existed more than a century. According to "The Global Terrorism Index"

report released in 2014, findings indicated that today, the world terror activities had increased

rapidly. Notably, the world today registers close to 61% rise in terrorist attacks in one year. For

clarity purposes, this paper adopts the definition of terrorism put forward by the Institute for

Economics & Peace as the threat or actual use of unlawful force and violence usually committed

by a non-state actor to gain economic, political and religious or social objective. Such acts of

terrorism pursue either social, religious, economic or political goal by instilling fear, coercion or

by intimidating the target. Since the commencement of the 21

century, various terror groups

have been causing havoc in different countries in the various part of the globe. However, there

are four terrorist groups notorious for their lethal acts, and they include Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Taliban

and Boko Haram. Even though figures of global terrorism are still relatively small, the effects of

terror activities particularly those committed by radical variants of Islam are tremendous.

First, terrorism is increasingly becoming a national disaster with effects transcending

beyond national borders. In the United States, the terrorism is a top priority for Homeland

Security and agencies tasked with enhancing national security. Recent literature and national as

well as global security reports have identified several causes of terrorism in America and the

world. Given the current manifestation of terrorist activities in the US and other parts of the

world, Amanda Macias (2014), an author working for Business Insider reported that the causes

of terrorism could be categorized into three broad categories depending on their nature of

TERRORISM: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND REMEDIES 3

occurrence and factors associated with the specific terrorism event. Macias (2014) identified

three broad categories which include enormous social hostilities involving ethnic, religious and

factions with varying dialect, the influence of states by causing violence, and higher levels or

provoking forms of violence. During the UN's General Assembly, the convention gave

diversionary opinions regarding causes of terrorism by claiming that terrorism could occur as a

result of grievances emanating from foreign interventions or colonial domination or could be

caused by some specific policies that have been put in place to fight it (United Nations General

Assembly, 2017). Hence, the causes of terrorism vary from political, economic, and religious to

diplomatic aspects.

Although the international community has been coming together year after year, the way

diplomacy is applied to different crisis particularly the one pursued by the UN seems to worsen

the situation. Apparently, countries are said to become victims of terrorism because of the way

individual states or institutions implement certain policies and principles. For instance, the

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has in the past few years implemented hostile policies

that have in return ruined its relationship with neighboring nations and governments located

away from Asia (The United Nations General Assembly, 2017). The international community

apparently intervened to offer a diplomatic solution to the conflict involving North Korea;

however, the matter could not be resolved until when the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

relinquishes its hostile policies. Besides, the country is known for its strong desire for nuclear

power. Since the world is comprised of states and governments that are always searching for

power, it is unreasonable to support the actions of North Korea such as manufacturing and use of

nuclear weapons. Therefore, the fear and suspicion of non-state actors are likely to trigger terror

TERRORISM: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND REMEDIES 4

activities as they try to suppress nuclear power and defend national borders. In summary, such

activities may create avenues where terrorist groups may be formed and start to launch attacks.

Again, the major causes and motivations of terrorism could be categorized as follows.

Political causes:

Among other things that may cause or motivate terrorist activities include the political

influence. In theory, factors such as government repression are identified as a root cause of

terrorism. Some the aspects that can help to measure government repression include political

privileges and civil liberties. The United States falls among democratic nations where all obey

the constitution and the rule of law. However, rare instances where the government or

institutions violate civil liberties or human rights tend to prompt some individuals to engage in

domestic terrorism (Çinar, 2017). After the 9/11, the US has been experiencing attacks carried

out by domestic terrorists. According to Ruiz-Grossman (2017), far-right extremists were found

to be responsible for organizing and carrying out attacks in the United States compared to

Islamist extremists. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the US has reported or experienced

close to 85 deadly attacks as a result of domestic terrorism (Ruiz-Grossman, 2017). Therefore,

individuals opt to become terrorists when they attempt to correct a political, historical or social

injustice/wrong.

Religious causes:

Apparently, many attacks that are reported today are claimed to have been committed in

the name of religion, for example, the Jihadists or radical Islam groups such as Al-Qaeda, ISIS,

Taliban, Boko Haram and Al Shabaab among many others. Another example of religious

terrorism reported in the world includes the famous Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo

TERRORISM: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND REMEDIES 5

carried out two lethal sarin gas attacks in 1994 and 1995 in Tokyo subways. Islamic martyrs

have also been the cause of many suicide attacks in the Middle East for many years.

Socioeconomic:

Different forms of deprivation such as poverty, lack of political freedom or inadequate

access to learning facilities can force people to engage in terrorist activities. Studies have in the

past actively linked poverty with terrorism. Measures of social inequality such as level of

education and poverty gaps are likely to trigger off or drive people to engage in incidents of

terrorism.

Furthermore, before discussing the remedies or solutions of terrorism, it is essential to

look at its destructive activities. At the start of the first decade of the 21

century, the US

experienced its worst attack in history when Al Qaeda hijacked 4 airplanes and bombed the

World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They attempted to strike the US Capitol too. In the

process, 3,000 Americans were killed and property worth billions of dollars destroyed. Other

than the loss of human life, terrorism has a wide range of effects which vary from social,

economic, political and religious. In the economic perspective, terrorism amplifies the costs of

conducting business especially in countries that are affected by terror in various ways including

increasing the price of products (Newman, 2006). Terrorism reduces the value of exports and

imports of terror-affected economies by increasing the prices of products. Also, physical

destruction is identified as the immediate and measurable effect of terrorism. Therefore, direct

economic destruction includes destroying machines, existing companies, transportation systems

and economic resources among others.

TERRORISM: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND REMEDIES 6

Moreover, terrorism increases uncertainty in the markets directly and indirectly. Since all

markets do not work well with uncertainty, most of which is created by terrorism, financial

markets for example literary shutdown when terrorists strike. For instance, the American

financial markets literary closed down after 9/11 and did not succeed recovery until several

months after the U.S invaded Iraq in 2003 (Çinar, 2017). Additionally, insurance and tourism

industries are highly vulnerable sectors and they affected by international terrorism or global

wars. When terrorist activities hit a healthy nation, it creates fear amongst the population and as a

result, make them to willingly give up their political and economic freedoms in return for

security. In the process, the citizens of terror affected nations end up paying higher taxes,

straining to pay deficits and also suffer from inflation and its effects. Lastly, terrorism creates

and increase political risk. For instance, in America and Europe in 2016, there was an increase in

doubt of foreign cultures, migrant workers, refugees, and businesses. Uncertain economic fallout

may emanate from political risk.

What are the Remedies for Terrorism?

According to the global economic symposium, the international community can come

together to resolve the issue of terrorism in some ways including the following. First, the

political avenue may use as a remedy of terrorism by transforming political institutions and

administrative arms of government to lead in an inclusive manner (The United Nations General

Assembly, 2017). Such inclusivity should be supported by legally authorized political

institutions to help prevent instrumental justification of violence. In order for one country or a

people to persuade others to abandon terrorism as a tactic, the persuader should first show that

the act is unnecessary, morally disgraceful and legally felonious. Political institutions supported

TERRORISM: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND REMEDIES 7

by mediation by civil society can pursue political support and economic access to individuals and

groups. Secondly, the government should put more emphasis on its capacity to protect the

vulnerable public but allow exercising of its fundamental rights and freedoms. Revolutionary

groups usually apply terrorist tricks by undermining the legitimacy of the government they are

opposed to in an attempt to overthrow it. Therefore, the government should have adequate

capacity to shield its citizenry from data. Mitigation is also another method fighting terrorism.

Governments particularly those targeted by terrorists should prevent any terrorist by establishing

protection layers that criminals must penetrate to attack. The government can mitigate the effects

of terrorism by minimizing the scale or impact of a strike should it take place.

TERRORISM: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND REMEDIES 8

References

Çinar, M. (2017). The Effects of Terror Events on Economic Growth: Panel Data Approach.

Retrieved 21 April 2018, from http://dx.doi.org/10.18045/zbefri.2017.1.97

Macias, A. (2014). A Snapshot of Terrorism in the World Today. Business Insider. Retrieved 21

April 2018, from http://www.businessinsider.com/the-state-of-terrorism-in-the-world-

today-2014-11?IR=T

Newman, E. (2006). Exploring the “Root Causes” of Terrorism. Studies In Conflict & Terrorism,

29(8), 749-772. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10576100600704069

Ruiz-Grossman, S. (2017). Most of America’s Terrorists are White, And Not Muslim. HuffPost

UK. Retrieved 21 April 2018, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/domestic-

terrorism-white-supremacists-islamist-extremists_us_594c46e4e4b0da2c731a84df

The United Nations General Assembly. (2017). Global Cooperation, Tackling Root Causes

Central to Fight against Terrorism, World Leaders Stress on Third Day of General Debate

| Meetings Coverage and Press Releases. Un.org. Retrieved 21 April 2018, from

https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/ga11950.doc.htm

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