Causes of Terrorism

1- Ethnicity, Nationalism/Separatism
• An ethnicity is subordinated or disadvantaged in economic
opportunity, social status, political voice and rights, or cultural
expressions.
• Ethnic conflict arises from a "complex combination" of class,
inequality, political opportunity, mobilization resources and "ethnic
strength”.
• How can 'ethnic strength?
• Do most ethnic groups live in peace with each other?
• Spirit of Nationalism
• Concept of Separatism
2-Poverty and economic disadvantage
• Social stratification
• Inequalities in the distribution of scarce resources.
• When a group is absolutely or relatively deprived they rebel.
• According to the Rational Actor (RA) approach shifting to behavioral
dissent only when absolute poverty is present.
• UN statistics show that citizens in the Third World are worse off now
than 30 years ago, while a small faction in those countries enriched
themselves, i.e. RA and DA (Deprived Actor) are both present.
• If either one of them is true, the West ought to be continuously
subject to terrorist acts by (a small group representing) people from
these Third World countries. But there is no huge mass uprising of
the vast majority of the world population against the few in Western
states, nor continuous terrorist attacks carried out by Third World
citizens against the West. In fact, the amount of terrorist incidents
declined in the 1990s.
3- Globalization
• Galtung (2002) sees the Third World - First World dichotomy as a
new version of class conflict based on structural violence.
• Injustice being done by structural violence is considerably more
difficult than an overt assault on a country or discrimination of a
target group, and even if one succeeds in convincing one's own
group, they will likely stumble upon resorting to terrorist methods,
not possessing sufficient assets to purchase and develop so-called
'weapons of mass destruction'. This is an example of a wider gap
between means and ends.
• Guelke (1995) explores globalization, inequality and the Third World
from another direction and explores the possible links between
economic affluence and a stable liberal democracy, thereby
assuming that it would reduce incidence of terrorism. However, at
the same time he asserts that a liberal democracy "has proved little
more successful than other forms of political systems in overcoming
the relative weakness of the state in many Third World societies and
that economic development is a more important factor to maintain
law and order.
• Guelke is more concerned with intra-Third World conflicts than world wide
international terrorism as there has been relatively little spill-over from
political violence within Third World states into the international arena.
4- (non) democracy
• Absence of a 'correct' implementation of democratic ideals and not
democracy.
• Political violence is morally justifiable in a democracy in two occasions.
• Firstly, there is the case of the minority whose basic rights and liberties are
denied or taken away by arbitrary action of the government or its agencies.
• Second when one minority is attacked by another minority and does
not receive adequate protection from the state and its forces of law
and order. Those who are the subjects of a liberal state, but who are
not admitted to its rights of citizenship cannot be morally bound to
obedience to the state. They are not bound by political obligation for
they have not been accorded any rights by the state.
• It is generally agreed that a lack of democracy, civil liberties and the
rule of law are preconditions for many forms of domestic terrorism.
• Generally, the most democratic and the most totalitarian societies
have the lowest levels of oppositional violence.
• Failed or weak states on the other hand, lack the capacity or
sometimes exercise territorial control.
• This often leaves a power vacuum that is can be exploited by
terrorist organizations to maintain safe havens, training facilities or
serve as bases for launching terrorist campaigns.
• Long standing liberal democracies with established traditions of free
speech and tolerance have been the targets of both domestic
and foreign terrorism.
• As Crenshaw contends “democracy and terrorism are not polar
opposites: saying ‘yes’ to democracy, unfortunately, does not mean
saying ‘no’ to terrorism”
• Rapid modernization and urbanization in the form of high economic
• growth has also been found to correlate strongly with the emergence
of ideological terrorism, but not with ethno-nationalist terrorism
(Crenshaw 1981).
• This may be particularly important in countries where sudden wealth
(e.g. from oil) has precipitated a change from tribal to high-tech
societies in one generation or less.
• When traditional norms and social patterns crumble or are made to
seem irrelevant, new radical ideologies that are sometimes based
on religion or perhaps nostalgia for a glorious past, may become
attractive to certain segments of society.
• Historical antecedents of political violence, civil wars, revolutions,
dictatorships or occupation may lower the threshold for acceptance
of political violence and terrorism, and impede the development of
nonviolent norms among all segments of society.
• The victim role as well as longstanding historical injustices and
grievances may be constructed to serve as justifications for
terrorism.
5. Hegemony and inequality of power
• When local or international powers possess an overwhelming power
compared to oppositional groups, and the latter see no other
realistic ways to forward their cause by normal political or military
means, “asymmetrical warfare” can represent a tempting option.
• Terrorism offers the possibility of achieving high political impact with
limited means.
• Illegitimate or corrupt governments frequently give rise to opposition
that may turn to terrorist means if other avenues are not seen as
realistic options for replacing these regimes with a more credible
and legitimate government or a regime which represents the values
and interests of the opposition movement.
• Powerful external actors upholding illegitimate governments may be
• seen as an insurmountable obstacle to needed regime change.
• Such external support to illegitimate governments is frequently seen
as foreign domination through puppet regimes serving the political
and economic interests of foreign sponsors.
• Repression by foreign occupation or by colonial powers has given
rise to a great many national liberation movements that have sought
recourse in terrorist tactics and other political means.
• Despite their use of terrorist methods, some liberation movements
enjoy considerable support and legitimacy among their own
constituencies, and sometimes also from segments of international
public opinion.
• The experience of discrimination on the basis of ethnic or religious
origin is the chief root cause of ethno-nationalist terrorism.
• When sizeable minorities are systematically deprived of their rights
to equal social and economic opportunities, obstructed from
expressing their cultural identities (e.g. forbidden to use their
language or practice their religion), or excluded from political
influence, this can give rise to secessionist movements that may
turn to terrorism or other forms of violent struggle.
• Ethnic nationalisms are more likely to give rise to terrorism than are
moderate and inclusive civic nationalisms.
• Failure or unwillingness by the state to integrate dissident groups or
emerging social classes may lead to their alienation from the political
system.
• Some groups are excluded because they hold views or represent political
traditions considered irreconcilable with the basic values of the state.
• Large groups of highly educated young people with few prospects of
meaningful careers within a blocked system will tend to feel
alienated and frustrated. Excluded groups are likely to search for
alternative channels through which to express and promote political
influence and change.
• The experience of social injustice is a main motivating cause behind
• social revolutionary terrorism.
• Relative deprivation or great differences in income distribution
(rather than absolute deprivation or poverty) in a society have in
some studies been found to correlate rather strongly with the
emergence of social revolutionary political violence and ideological
terrorism, but less with ethno-nationalist terrorism.
• ROOT CAUSES
• 1) Rapid modernization and
urbanization are strongly
correlated with the emergence of
• ideological terrorism
• 2) Lack of Democracy, civil liberties
• and the rule of law is a
• precondition to many forms of
• domestic terrorism
• 3) Historical antecedents of political
• violence
• 4) Repression by foreign
occupation
• or colonial powers
• 5) Experience of discrimination
• based on ethnic or religious
• origins
• TRIGGER CAUSES
• 1) Events that call for revenge or
action (i.e. contested elections,
police brutality, etc.)
• 2) Lack of opportunity for political
participation
• 3) Concrete grievances among a
subgroup of a larger population
• 4) Importance of belonging to a
strong group for development of
identity
• 5) Peace talks
 Five Major US Decisions Leading to Creation of Al Qaeda, Jihadists
and Suicide Bombers
1- US hegemonic designs in Middle East- to secure gains of Oil
resources-to made deals with conservative monarchies in the
region-offering military protection.
• Iran since 1950’s-Egypt- Syria
• Turkey’s position
2- US total support to Israel
3- US involvement in Afghan civil war
4-Imposition of sanction against Iraq after Gulf war1991
5- US invasion of Afghanistan