The Four Waves Of Modern Terrorism

This paper will discuss religious terrorism in particular. Religious terrorism can be defined as “the terrorism [is] carried out based on motivations and goals that have a predominantly religious character or influences.” (“Religious Terrorism”) An example of this will be the 9/11 attacks. It was “a series of four coordinated terrorist attack launched by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda upon the United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.”(“September 11 attacks”) This attack had led to a serious causality, “almost 3000 people dies in the attacks.” (“September 11 attacks”) Osama Bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, declared a “holy war against the United States” (“September 11 attacks”) In his “letter to America”, he stated the motives as follows: In opposition to western support for attacking Muslims in Somalia; supporting the Indian oppression against Muslims in Kashmir; the Jewish aggression against Muslims in Lebanon; the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia; U.S support of Israel and the sanction against Iraq. (“September 11 attacks”) The disastrous attack leads to a serious attention of re-constructing the old version of counter terrorism strategy, which had failed to protect the citizens against terrorism. However, ‘terrorism is far to complex for one solution to be effective in dealing with all the possible threats.” (Lygutas 146) Therefore, some of the measures have difficulties in balancing the rights of

This essay will discuss whether or not the events of 9/11 presaged an era of ‘new terrorism’. The attacks created a change to the perceived level of vulnerability to terrorist attacks in North America given that 9/11 was the first time there was an act of terrorism on such a significant scale within the United States. While the evidence for both sides is very compelling it is difficult to label the era as “new” therefore the essay will conclude that the attacks lead to an evolution in terrorism and thus in the way Canada deals with terrorist threats.

Terrorism has been an important part of social behavior for over 2,000 years. Between the years of 1980 and 1995, terroristic groups motivated by religious beliefs had increased by 43% (Hoffman). Religious beliefs and culture are a main reason groups and individuals resort to terrorism. Groups resort to terrorism as a consequence of seeing their culture demolished, as well as religious motives. Terrorist groups have many intentions when it comes to acts of terrorism. They main ones are they want to create fear globally, weaken the government, and obtain universal recognition for what they have done. Religiously motivated terrorist groups usually have high authority targets. These targets include government offices, banks, and national airlines. From the group’s perspective, terrorism is the only practical option. Groups are formed centered on certain factors like culture and religion. Many terrorists will receive support from their followers

The French Revolution’s aftermath during the 18th century sparked a vicious campaign against nobles who were seen as enemies of the newly formed state. The post-revolutionary government because of their series of mass executions was referred to as terror. The terror concept differs from the modern use of “terrorism” because the perpetrators are not usually governments and are instead nonstate actors (Lacquer, 2001). The word terrorism can be like the word globalism because it can be difficult to define because of the diversity of its meanings among different individuals and different groups. The continual transformation of the contexts in which the term is used causes difficulty in forming a distinctive meaning, but does not make it impossible to study the phenomenon as a distinctive form of political violence. Terrorism may differ from media outlets, governments, cultures, scholars, and readers. Examining the usage of the term thorough-out history will be a useful way to come to a conclusion as to the true meaning and definition of the term. Even though examples of terrorism can go back several millennia, studying the history of it will make it seem considerably new at this time and

This essay will endeavour to give an historical analysis of contemporary terrorism and its changing nature by focusing on three specific terrorist campaigns over the last thirty years. The essay will begin by first presenting a definition of terrorism and will move on to provide a brief account of the geographical shift in terrorism by discussing the movement from territorial based terrorism to more ideological focused campaigns. In addition, it will give a concise discussion on the theory of globalisation in relation to terrorism and the impact it has had on the growth of international

After September 11, 2001, David C. Rapoport’s theory on terrorist waves emerged. In his article “The Four Waves of Modern Terrorism,” he states that September 11, 2001 is the most destructive day in the long bloody history of terrorism. “The casualties and the economic damage were unprecedented. It could be the most important day too. President Bush declared a “war” to eliminate terror, galvanizing a response that could reshape the international world.”(Rapoport, 2004, pg.46). According to Rapoport, terrorism comes in four waves known as the Anarchist wave, the Anti-Colonial wave, the New Left wave, and the Religious Terrorism wave. It is known that each wave lasts for a generation, for example 40-50 years. A wave is defined as “a cycle of activity given the time period, a cycle characterized by expansion and contraction phases.”(Rapoport, 2004, pg.46). Rapoport states that a wave is known as an organization and that a crucial feature within these waves is its international character and similar activities that occur in several countries that is driven by a common predominant energy as well as their characteristics and mutual relationships. He states that academics focus on organizations because organizations launch terror campaigns and governments always tend to disable those organizations. Terrorist organizations in each of these waves have an average lifespan of two years. However, it is stated that a few organizations can outlast their limited span and can become more

The notion that we are in a “new” era of terrorism is a concept frequently discussed by many scholars. Despite the term being coined in the 1990s, it has quickly gained significance after 9/11. This ‘New’ era is presumably characterized by many factors such as(Duyvesteyn,2010,p443); religious fanaticism rather than the political motivations of traditional Right Wing Dissident Terrorists(RWDT’s); the deliberate targeting of innocent civilians; shift to the use of loosely organised networks as opposed to RWDT’s vertically organized hierarchical structure; tendency of ‘new’ terrorists to operate along transnational lines; and the potential of Weapons of Mass Destruction(WMD’s), with the intention to distribute maximum destruction. However, this concept has been challenged by the fact that traditional RWDT’s have conducted indiscriminate acts of violence; as well as there being evidence of ‘New’ terrorists not being purely religiously oriented. This suggests that there are several ideological similarities that ‘new’ terrorism may share with traditional RWDT. Despite this there are also inconsistencies with its characteristics, such as the lack of WMD’s in the tactics of ‘New’ terrorists. Sceptics argue that this terrorism may not necessarily be ‘new’ but rejuvenated and could potentially be ‘artificial’(Kurtulus,2011,p479). Spencer (Kurtulus, p479) captures the possibility of ‘New’ terrorism being used profoundly at a time of peril and heightened concerns (9/11) in order to

Marc Boalch, 5-17-18TerrorismThe world, within it many issues concerning it and its inhabitants. For example global warning, violation of human rights, and deadly diseases. However the one described today is by far the most important issue concerning the people of the world, that issue has one name and one word only, terrorism.Terrorism is one of the most dangerous issues today as it can affect anyone, the means of terrorism is to inflict violence and terror into countries for the point of political gain. Terrorism can be achieved in many different countries, however more likely in less developed countries as there government is still in a matter of speaking, under construction, allowing the terrorists an advantage because they are still forming, allowing the terrorists to strike fear and mold the country for their benefit.Most believe that the Islam

Terrorism in the twenty-first century has some similarities and differences from terrorism in the twentieth century. Terrorism is, in its broadest sense, the use or threatened use of violence in order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological aim. Also useful to remember that because the two entities involved, the terrorists and the terrorized, are on the opposite end of the political, religious or ideological continuum, the same act is viewed by them differently. There is much sense in the phrase one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.

The history of terrorism can be traced back as far as the French revolution. Some of these acts of terrorism only seem as distant reminders of our past, but at the same time, are not a far cry from today’s brutal acts; and although these acts seem distant, it doesn’t also mean they are no longer in the thoughts of individuals in today’s time.

There continues to be a widespread scholarly debate on the concept of “new” and ‘old’ terrorism, where ‘new’ terrorism phenomenon is predominately linked with ‘religious’ terrorism. David Rapoport, also known as one of the most well known founding figures of terrorism studies, joined UCLA in 1962 as a political theorist and later he became a founder and editor of Terrorism and Political Violence (UCLA). The idea of religious terrorism coincides with Rapoport’s (2004) theory on the waves of modern terrorism, especially the fourth wave. Rapoport (2004) contends that modern terrorism should be split into waves with each wave being prevailed by a certain ideology. The fourth wave, which is the current wave today, is motivated by extreme

The bombings of the United States embassies in Tanzania and Kenya were marked indicators that Africa based terrorist groups were increasing threats to the interests of democratic societies in Africa those of all freedom loving societies the world over. Our policy makers have for long treated the Middle East and Asia as the main battlegrounds in the war on terror. Those regions have been joined by Africa in the aftermath of the Arab revolution which gave rise to regional instability. Could demographic, economic and/or religious forces be fuelling the growth of terrorism in Africa, particularly Nigeria? I would show that the current preferred

Terrorism is when a group of extremist or just one extremist attacks because of political, religious, or economic reasons. I believe the reason why people use terrorism is because this is their form of revenge. They may disagree with something and attack to show how mad they are and to create fear. Terrorism has been used in the past. 9/11 was not the first time terrorism has happened. For example on February 26, 1993, there was the first World Trade Center bombing. What happened was that in a van there were explosives and cyanide. They were set of and six people died and thousands were wounded. Also, there was the Terror of the State. What happened was that millions of people were executed, arrested, and imprisoned. Around 20 million Soviets ended up dying. On February 25, 1994 a man named Baruch Goldstein did a religiously inspired terror. Goldstein was a follower of a Jewish terrorist group name Kach. During the holy month of Ramadan Goldstein went into the town of Hebron. In Hebron he went inside the Ibrahim Mosque. Inside the Ibrahim Mosque he had an assault-rifle and shot 111 shots. The people he was shooting at were 800 Palestinian Muslim worshippers. 29 people died and 150 were injured but were then beaten to death.

One of the significant difficulties standing up to Africa today is the means by which to agreeable or opposite the tide of terrorism clearing over the landmass. There is a solid conviction among policymakers that terrorism in Africa is to a great extent the result of financial hardship, poverty, unemployment, absence of education, defilement, distance and monetary, social and political minimization and dispossession of the masses. The poverty, unemployment and ignorance that drive African adolescents to grasp terrorism in Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Sudan, Egypt, Algeria, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania and Mauritania among others are the result of an alternate issue.

The nature and scope of terrorism is shifting. Following the 9/11 attacks, the United States developed a massive counterterrorism apparatus to defeat Al-Qaeda. However, over the past decade there has been a noticeable difference in how terrorists recruit and operate. The international community has not yet adjusted to these changes, and states continue to rely on conventional methods to combat terrorism. With ISIS emerging as a global terrorist threat, there is a need to implement strategies that can successfully defeat this unconventional enemy. This paper will discuss the evolution of ISIS, and compare it with Al-Qaeda. It will analyze how the US strategies designed to defeat Al-Qaeda are inadequate to deal with ISIS, and provide some policy recommendations.