The Challenges of Terrorism

Chapter 8 provides an overview of types and patterns of international conflict and gives considerable attention to the changing characteristics of warfare. Among these changes are a shift away from general war and an increase in civil war and terrorist activities. The events of September 11, 2001, brought terrorism to the forefront of international threats. Much time, attention, military force, and money have been dedicated to ending terrorist activities. Many observers of international relations believe that terrorism may be the central security issue of the present time. In this exercise, you will focus on the problem of terrorism and consider its nature and the challenges it presents for world politics.

I. Concepts and Definitions. It is often suggested that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” This familiar assertion pinpoints the difficulty in defining terrorism because the actions of any individual or group are viewed differently depending on whether one sympathizes with their cause or not. Can there be a common definition? Write out your own definition of terrorism in a few sentences. Include consideration of at least four things: (a) who is committing the act; (b) the nature of the act; (c) the target of the act; (d) why the act is committed.

II. Researching the Nature and Patterns of Terrorism

a. With your working definition in hand, take a few minutes to examine the definitions of terrorism offered by the United States Department of State (http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2003/17067.htm), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (http://www.unodc.org/unodc/terrorism_definitions.html), the Council on Foreign Relations (http://www.cfrterrorism.org/home/), and Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism). What changes, if any, would you make to your definition? Make notes on the strengths of your revised definition, especially as it helps identify the activity to be addressed, and guide responses to the problem.

b. Research different types of terrorists and different types of terrorist activities, according to a few well-known sources.

Based on your research, write out a short typology or list of different types of terrorist groups—your list should help us better understand the problem of terrorism. Do the same for terrorist activities.

III. Analysis: The Challenges of Terrorism for World Politics

Given your definition and understanding of the nature and types of terrorism and terrorist activities, (a) reflect on why this kind of conflict and violence is such a difficult challenge for world politics, listing at least four reasons, and write a few sentences explaining each one; (b) write a few sentences about the implications of these challenges for responding to and countering terrorism—you may wish to review current U.S. strategy as you think about this last question (usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/strategy/).