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Essay: The Definition and Diverse Characteristics of Terrorism

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  • Published: 1 February 2018*
  • Last Modified: 23 July 2024
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  • Words: 907 (approx)
  • Number of pages: 4 (approx)
  • Tags: Terrorism essays

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Paste your essay in here..Discuss critically the theories and definition of terrorism;

Terrorism has grown into a pertinent global factor that has an effort on many countries and states in the world. There are several forms of terrorism, yet each of them focuses on one central issue to begin with. The definition of terrorism is the act of employing force and violence to force others to make desired decisions and actions. In majority of the cases, there are political and ideological connections behind any act of terrorism. Yet the main philosophy instigated by terrorism is to create and instill fear amongst the target group. People who practice terrorism use tactics that create fear to instill fear in individuals hence those who practice terrorism try to influence decisions that will help them achieve their objectives by creating fear among people and they do this mostly because of political and religious motivation.

Terrorism cases in the current world have been on the rise due to technological advancements and globalization. Such aspects have led to the redefinition of terrorism, and made slide changes to the conventional understanding.

One of the most challenging responsibilities that governments are charged with is combating terrorism and this is mainly due to the diverse characteristics of terrorist that differ across nations. The divergent motivating factors for terrorist and their goals and objectives are generally difficult to comprehend. The specific target group to direct terror at is yet another of the major dilemmas that the war on terrorism has to face. This is attributed to the fact that without the support of nations and community members, terrorists groups can never exist or thrive and this is well exemplified amongst some Muslim radicals terrorist. Since Muslim radicals have claimed responsibility for many terror attacks around the world, they have taken center stage in policy making and occupy the minds of many people across the world. Despite this, it would be wrong to assume that every Muslim country and individual is involved in terrorism because this is not the case. There are however, certain Muslim countries that have been alleged to support terrorist groups and because of all these aspects, it is important for countries trying to combat terrorism to comprehend the diversity and nature of the crime and the types of terrorist they are dealing with before they can adopt any policies. In addition, policy makers ought to come to terms with the new definitions and broad scopes of terrorism as these among the key emerging issues that pose challenges to applying different policies and measures to combat terrorism include the use of weapons of mass technology as well as cyber-technology terrorism.

Without obtaining support from different community mechanism and state institutions, terror groups would never be able to champion their crusades of employing weapons of mass destruction. These weapons have changed the dynamics as they are fresh source of power and influence for terrorist groups and have thus created a difference between the conventional and modern comprehension of terrorism. In the past, terrorist mainly gained their power and influence from amassing wealth and resources which they would employ in terror activities.

Discuss critically the tactics of terrorism

The latest terror attacks in Paris and Brussels marked a exchange in the tactics of so-referred to as Islamic state. So why did they take place, why now and as a consequence ,what would be the best strategy to defeat them?

The new tactics reflect changes inside the group’s recruitment strategy to adapt to new circumstances. The main purpose of any insurgent group is to maximize its share of power. To achieve this goal, groups rely mostly on manpower – and both the quantity and quality matters. So for any rebel group it is essential to attract as many recruits and as good recruits as possible. Groups growth their numbers by way of attracting three types of fighters, those motivated by a goal or a grievance, those motivated by using immediate profit and last, forced recruits. In Syria, throughout its history, the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has used special tactics to recruit all three types of fighter. It is beneficial to take a look at changes within the group’s recruitment strategy over time, in order to be capable of identify possible windows of opportunity to defeat the group. The main human resources aim of any organization is to have only motivated members. For an insurgent group, these are the best fighters, the most dedicated to the group’s goals, the least likely to defect and the most possibly to take necessary combat risks (including participation in suicide missions). Such members also cost the group the least.

At the beginning of its existence, ISIL enjoyed an excess of devoted fighters. in addition to Syrian fighters, qualified overseas fighters have been coming from all around the world, eager to join the fight and even die for the group’s goals. One defected ISIL fighter recalls that, in the beginning, ISIL was receiving up to 3,000 new recruits and volunteers per day. With such a flood of applicants, the group was able to select only the most dedicated and qualified fighters. these fighters did no longer need a whole lot of supervision and managing them was easy, due to the fact everyone became working toward one goal. They were willing to take the risks in combat, helping ISIL to advance quickly and take a lot of ground.

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