Theories and practice of International relations

Saied Sulaiman Tafida

TERRORISM AND THE FACTORS OF THE UPSURGE OF

TERRORISM IN THE GLOBE.

WHAT IS TERRORISM
It is true that ‘terrorism’ had become a persistent and nasty reality in global
politics (Rourke 2005). In 1995 an American building in Oklahoma was
bombarded were 165 people lost their live and on September 11 2001, the bombing
of the World Trade Center and other incidences that predates this examples gave a
new definition to what is terrorism. Terrorism is a form of political violence that is
carried out by individuals, organizations, or by relatively small groups of covert
government agents that specifically target civilians and that uses underground
attack method such as car bombs; hijacked airliners or planed military action
(Rourke 2005). Terrorism is seen as an act of petrifying people in other to create
fear in others.
It is obvious that the said definition is long and misted up, but that is the idea
of terrorism globally. The simple fact is that terrorism means different things to
different people. The two main divisions are that either noble action can justify
terrorism (Osama ibn Laden and his al-Qaida) or whether action taken by
uniformed military forces can be classified as terrorism. (Israel invasion of civilian
Palestine)
Can noble ends justify terrorism? Some, scholars believe, one man’s terror is
another man’s freedom fighter. That is, what is terrorism to others is an act of
heroism to others. Most people from the middle belt accuse America and its allies
of invading their lands, adulterating their cultures and stealing their wealth. Hence
some of them attack American lands and citizens, threatening America to leave
their lands.
On the other hand however, critic insists that there is no difference between
who detonates bomb on the street and a pilot who drop bomb that kills numerous
noncombatants near a ‘target’ (ibid).
However forms the definition of terrorism may take. Terrorism stands as an
act targeted at civilians to insight fear and terror in the heart of civilians with a
hope of achieving a larger goal in the international politics.

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE UPSURGE OF TERRORISM IN

THE GLOBE.
There are many proffered explanations by different scholars and critics as to
the reasons for the uprising of terrorism in the international politics. The terrorist
act based on the noble ends has their explanation to the quandary and the
uniformed scholars as well.
Some of the scholars believe that, the current wave of terrorism is prompted
by the continuing turmoil in the Middle East: Especially between Israel and
Palestine (Rouke 2005). While most of the ‘suicide bombers’ insist that their
domination by the Israel and the West are the causes of their acts, the West insists
that the need for the national security is the cause of their attacks.
Bin laden for example after September 11 attack, in a video massage to
America said, America should expect more of such attacks or until they decide to
withdraw from the Arabian Lands (Saudi Arabia among others). Hence many
scholars see the domination of countries as one of the major causes of terrorism.
Another key factor that has contributed to terrorism’s rising deadliness is the
ease of access to a range of low-tech and high-tech weapons. At the low-end of the
weapons spectrum, terrorists rely on guns and bombs, as they have for more than a
century. At the high end of the spectrum, there is evidence that groups such as al-
Qaeda seek to acquire chemical, biological, and even nuclear weapons. Other
terrorist groups, such as Aum Shinrikyo, already have carried out terrorist attacks
using biological and chemical weapons. It is feared that the nuclear weapons
stockpiles of the former Soviet Union could produce an international black market
in fissionable materials that terrorists might potentially obtain. Finally, in the
middle range of the weapons spectrum the world is flooded in sophisticated items
available to terrorists everywhere, including plastic explosives and hand-held,
precision-guided surface-to-air missiles (Hoffman 2009)
Terrorists today claim credit less frequently for their attacks than they once
did, a fact that also reflects terrorism’s increasing deadliness. Unlike today’s
reticent terrorists, the more traditional terrorist groups of the 1970s and 1980s not
only issued communiqués explaining why they perpetrated an attack but also
boasted proudly after a particularly destructive or deadly operation. The current
trend toward less communication implies that violence may be less a means to an
end than an end in itself for some terrorist groups. In other words, terrorists today
may use violence simply as vengeance or punishment rather than as a means to
achieve political change. Therefore, their actions require no explanation or
justification outside the terrorist group itself or its supporters.
Another view as to the causes of the upsurge of terrorism according to critics
is the pattern of economic and cultural threats those globalization posses to many
states. Countries fight to make sure they have enough to feed their economy and
any threat to cut them from their supply may be greeted with wrath. The American
invasion of Iraq in 2003 is seen by critics as an act of terrorism based on the
American thirst of crude oil.

Conclusion
 Whatever might be the reason that may triggers terrorism, or the exact
definition of the concept is, the act is condemned by the United Nations because
the target victims are always civilians. Hence, it carries a lot of criticism
worldwide.

References:

Hoffman, Bruce (2009). Nigeria. Microsoft Encarta 2009. (ED) Redmond, WA: Microsoft
Corporation, 2008.

Kenneth, M. (2000) Politics, Avery short introduction, Oxford University press,

New York, 2000

Rourke, John T. (2005) International Politics on the world stage (Rev Ed) Mc
Graw Hill, New York, 2005