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Disadvantages Of Terrorism

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One common misunderstanding about terrorism is it is a new and unprecedented phenomenon. In actuality, terrorism is not an ideology or means of modern times. Terrorism can be highlighted throughout the history of mankind, with some historians even dating it before any records of militant armies. Whether it was one lone individual or small bands that attacked their enemies. Terrorism rings throughout history whether its the killing of leaders or potential challengers to a throne, to raping and plundering villages and spreading panic throughout the victim’s land. Although the manner and goals of terrorism have evolved since, terrorism still revolves around the use of force against people (or significant property or landmarks) in order to …show more content…

These victims are merely instruments in power struggles and crusades constructed to spread panic and undermine confidence in the opposing government.

These acts can affect the victims in their everyday lives on several levels. Not only does it instill fear among the general public, it can also make many people lose faith in the aptitude of their government and its criminal justice system to protect them. Some people may even become cynical about their own side’s morality or values during the act or means of retaliation. Or at least that is what these terrorists hope. These indirect victims of the masses may also suffer the adverse consequences of the attacks through their every day to day lives. For example, people whose livelihood and careers are linked to the tourism industry will take a loss due to the drop in travelers in an area after catastrophic events take place.

So now that an understanding from a sociological perspective of why these acts are committed has been established, the functionality of the criminal justice system and how it deals with terroristic acts is the next step in understanding the nature of terrorism. First, the criminal justice system must be able to establish what events are terrorism, and whether or not the threat is growing or subsiding. Therefore, criminologists and law agencies need a concrete definition for what classifies an event as “terrorism”. This allows for both law officers as well as office criminologists to separate true

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