Sociological Perspective On Terrorism

Acts of terrorism are typically political oriented and ideologically motivated, ranging from specific goals expressed in terms of the might of political nation-states to more general purposes connected to the dilemma of certain people and groups. Therefore, terrorism can result from demands made by ethnic groups to receive representation in an existing political community or have its own state be formed, while terrorism can also be part of ideological fights for the acknowledgment of diminished expressions of ideas and ways of life. Because of the essentially political ideological objectives of terrorism, the fundamental ideas of terrorism are important to consider as the inspiring forces that fuel terrorist groups and individuals.

In order to determine whether an action is a terrorist act or not, terrorism must first be defined. Terrorism is the use or threatening the use of violence as a weapon to influence a person or a group of people to change policies or influence decisions according to the terrorist’s desires. The terrorist can be a single person acting on personal wishes or a group of people with an ultimate goal. The goals of a terrorist are normally political, ideological, or religious in nature.

It is not an easy task to come out with the reasons that drive someone to be involved in a terrorist action, sure it is not a voluntary action. DeAngelis 2009, stated that the psychology of terrorism is marked more by theory and opinion than by good science. Research show that the tourists’ actions are viewed in term of political and groups’ dynamic processes rather than individual ones. The association between September 11th and Islam that comes as a result of the war on terrorism that declared by the United States and the United Kingdom against Bin Laden and his gangs who were not representing Muslims or Islam at anyway. The war today is not between Muslims and non-Muslims, it is the war against an expansionist ideology that feeds hate that

For instance, the murder of abortion-clinic doctors is among the cases used to come up with the perceived reduction in the frequency of terrorist attacks. This raises the question of the exact definition of terrorism used by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism to come up with the statistics. It also includes other cases of attempted but foiled attacks in the United States. Arguably, whereas it is fallacious to extend the view and scope of terrorist attacks, it would have been better if the source had explained the exact meaning of terrorism used to develop the statistics (Plumer, 2013). Additionally, the source ignored other aspects such as the prevalence of fatal attacks, as opposed to generalizing cases of

“I say to our Muslim brothers across the world: your brothers in Saudi Arabia and Palestine are calling for your help and asking you to share with them in the Jihad against the enemies of God, your enemies the Israelis and Americans” (Torres, 2013).

When discussing theoretical perspectives regarding terrorism, conflict theory perspective and functionalism perspective come to mind. Functionalism states that behaviors accompanied by societal institutions can be used to bring about change (Barkan, n.d.).. Whereas the conflict theory focuses on an organization’s presence, or lack thereof, that allows opportunities for continuous confrontation.

“Sociology had little to tell the world about the nature and causes of organized attacks by civilians against other civilians” (Roche, 2004), attacks such as the event that took place September 11th, 2001 caught the interest of sociologist and implored them to turn their attention to the subject of terrorism. “Terrorism is a form of collective violence”, against civilians, critical infrastructures, or natural resources, in an attempt to pursue a political agenda (Roche, 2004). The word terrorism Extremist and extremist groups are those that commit acts of violent extremism and have very different ideologies than those they have targeted. The definition of terrorism is broad and changes from agency to agency and even government. All terrorists

Since 2001, the American society as we know it has changed dramatically. The rise of terrorism on the homefront has caused us to change how the government interacts with its citizens. The rise of secrecy and the loss of privacy has come as a response to these actions and we see no end to it.

screen. The Internet user must go out and look for the information, and if they

David Schanzer, director, triangle center and homeland security, defined terrorism as a tactic that does

New York City. Washington D.C. London. Nairobi. Beirut. Yazidi. Beslan. Mumbai. Lockerbie. These are the locations of some of the world’s worst terrorist attacks, resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. The culprits of these attacks were nearly always a relatively small group of individuals that were labeled as terrorists. It has been said that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. This is the problem with understanding terrorism, a word that means many things to different people. Our different perspectives make it a difficult problem to define and solve. These incidents have occurred relatively infrequently but their impact has been long term and far reaching. What could drive human

Terrorism has existed for many years and was known to have begun as early as the first century when a group of Jews who wanted to overthrow the Roman leader and did so by committing acts of murder. As time and society evolved terrorism became even more widespread, progressing throughout the globe. Terrorism has evolved since the early years after the death of Christ, with the rise of Islam, and into the 21st century during a time that terrorism is at an all-time high. Given the increased coverage of terrorism throughout the world is due to the upsurge of financing that is received by many extremist’s groups. Gaining these methods of terrorism is not hard and often times results in innocent individuals or organizations being illegally extorted

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines terrorism as; “the use of violent acts to frighten the people in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal, or the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion”. Keep in mind that there are several definitions of terrorism, and all of them vary in scope and execution. The psychological and behavioral factors of terrorism are a not product of an extremist socialization process, but a group norm, For terror groups who believe that violence or fear is a tool as a rational method of for success are immerse in their cause. The psychological and behavioral factors of terrorism can be a combination one’s life events. One’s

The result of terrorism and the lasting psychological impact on the victims of terrorism have been explored over time. As a global society there is not a comprehensive understanding of the psychological motivations within the terrorist mind. While there may be no definitive answer, extensive research has gravitated towards several theories, including the quest for personal significance. Until the mind of a terrorist is understood, preventing radicalization is an unreachable task. While not all terrorists are Muslim, they will the focus of my topic. Many people strive to be remembered and becoming a terrorist may be how some believe they will leave a lasting impact on the world. This quest can be motivated by many other factors that include

Have you ever had a fear for your family, your town, your country, or your world. How about the fear to have everything taken from you, destroyed, and not caring if it has hurt you or not? What about your fear and pain is, and can be someone else’s happiness? The fear of you being terrorized? That is terrorism. Someone else bringing fear and terrorizing you. That is a terrorist’s goal. Terrorism is common and is very difficult to stop. The government promises protection for the people, and their home, but they can not give that protection if they can not stop terrorism. Terrorism needs to stop to protect the live of the people, and their country.