Written By: Falakdipti
Abstract
Terrorism
has existed since the old times, back when it was classified as an act against
the monarch. Now, in the modern age, it is known as the use of violence to
propagate religious and/or political ideologies. Usually, terrorism is
associated with militant groups acting against a State, but governments also
have the ability to engage in terrorism to use it for political and economic
gain. The present paper aims to define terrorism and how it is used by States to
establish dominance in the political world and its impact.
Keywords:
state, government, militant, sponsor, terrorism
Introduction
Terrorism
is an act which involves unauthorised and illegal utilisation of deliberate
violence in order to achieve political goals.[1]
The term ‘terrorism’ originated in the 18th century, during the
French revolution.[2]
According to the description by Nobel laureate Thomas Schelling, terrorism is
the power to hurt in its purest form. Mostly the victims of terrorism are the
civilians of the State under attack, but the line that separates the combatants
and the victims is usually blurry, especially in civil conflicts.
Most
terrorism is domestic, that is, the victims and the perpetrators are from the
same State. The aim of such attacks is not to cause harm to an individual or a
group, rather they are designed to establish an influence, in general, over the
governing body. The act of terrorism committed outside the boundaries of the
territory in dispute was recognised as a distinct category in the 1970s with a
rise of suicide bombings and plane high-jacking incidents known as
‘international terrorism’.[3]
The victims and the perpetrators are of different nationalities.
Terrorism
can be classified into three broad classes: revolutionary, sub-revolutionary
and establishment.[4]
1. Revolutionary:
It is the most common type of terrorism. It seeks to completely overthrow a
political system or ideology. Some examples are Baader-Meinhof Gang (Germany),
Red Brigades (Italy) and Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (Spain).
2. Sub-revolutionary:
It is less common than revolutionary terrorism. The goal is not to abolish a
pre-existing regime but to transmute the socio-political structure. This type
of terrorism is relatively harder to identify because in order to bring
modifications in the system, the governing body is given threats of being
disposed of. An example is the movement to end apartheid in South Africa by the
African National Congress.
3. Establishment:
It is also known as State or State-sponsored terrorism. It is employed by the
government of a State, either against the citizens of its own territory or
foreign governments. It is rather difficult to identify since the support of
the State is often done covertly. Some examples are UNITA (Angola), Islamic
State in Iraq and the Levant (Iraq and Syria) and Joseph Stalin’s police and
military force (Soviet Russia)
Objectives
The
aim of this study is to learn the role of terrorism in politics. Political
instruments form the link between the creation of a policy and its
implementation. Thus, it plays an important role. Terrorism is often used as a
tactic by States to control its citizens with fear and to seize or to
intimidate other States. There are various types of State-supported or State-funded
acts of terrorism, which are to be discussed in the present paper in detail
with examples.
Analysis
There
is no difference between terrorism and the utilization of explicit strategies
that endeavour dread and fear by States typically viewed as "legitimate".
Governing bodies of countries often resort to violence to influence a segment
of the population of their territory or depend on coercive elements of state institutions.
There
are three ways a State can engage itself in terrorism:[5]
1. Governmental
or State terrorism: it is also known as
“terror from above”, where a government uses tactics to instil fear in its own
population to control it. These actions frequently compose the acknowledgment
policy of the governing body, with the use of official institutions like
judiciary, police, military forces and other government bureaus. The written
laws sometimes allow or encourage torturing, killing, detention or destruction
of property in the wake of government policies.
· The government of Abiy Ahmed Ali in Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (West Africa) is accused to be a “terrorist state” that uses violence against its own population. According to the statements made by Shimelis Abdisa (de facto ruler of the Oromia region of Ethiopia), the ultimate goal of the Ethiopian government is to establish an Oromo-dominated system of government through elimination of other ethnic groups of the country, especially Orthodox Christians and Amharas.[6] The Ethiopian regime is allegedly making use of political bodies headed by top politicians and some non-state actors as well, such as the kerros, which is an organisation of young members of the Oromo community that destroy churches and kill people who practise Orthodox Christianity and the Amharas.
The Prime Minister, who is the head of State in Ethiopia, is someone who believes in ethnic politics, and was brought to power by extremist Oromo nationalists to implement policies that promote portioning of the country of Ethiopia on the lines of ethnicity, using acts of terrorism to oppress non-Oromo communities.
·
The Great Purge, also known as the Great
Terror or the Year of ’37 was an act of State-terrorism that occurred from 1936
to 1938. It was a campaign perpetuated by Joseph Stalin in the Union of Soviet
Socialists Republics (East Europe and North Asia) of repression against
political opponents, Trotskyists (followers of Trotskyism; a branch of
Marxism), religious activists, ethnic minorities and the kulaks (peasants who
owned more than 8 acres of land). Total estimated deaths range between 6,80,000
and 1200000.[7]
2. State
involvement in terror: it is when the
government carries out operations using terror tactics against other States or
groups or individuals that the regime sees as a threat. These terror activities
are officially sanctioned, although the government authorities rarely ever
accept their involvement.
·
Grupos Antiterroristas de
Liberación, also called Antiterrorist Liberation
Groups were established by José Barrionuevo of the Spanish Socialist Workers
Party to fight Euskadi Ta Askatasuna in the Basque country (Northern
Spain and Southwest France).[8]
The GALs were active majorly in the French Republic (West Europe), although
most torturing and abductions happened in the Kingdom of Spain (Southwest
Europe). The Spanish newspaper El Mundo played an important role in revealing
the role of government in the act, sand the regime’s involvement was confirmed
in the trials held by the court.
·
Hamas,
also known as Ḥarakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah, is an organisation
which is the de-facto governing authority of the Gaza Strip. It has a social
service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, which is known as the Izz ad-Din
al-Qassam Brigades. The military group of the organisation has been accused
of setting up illegal groups to carry out terrorist attacks in the State of
Israel (West Asia).
On November 26, 2020, terrorist
organisations of the State of Palestine (West Asia) came together and released
a joint statement expressing their support to Hamas and gave a warning to the
PA of the State of Israel.[9]
3. State
sponsorship of terrorism: it is also referred to
as State-supported terrorism. In this the government provides equipment,
training, and other means of assistance to non-state terrorist groups. The
supply of a safe shelter or physical base for the terrorist group is one of the
most important forms of this assistance by the regime. False paperwork, not
only for personal identification (passports, internal identifying documents),
but also for bank transfers and gun sales, is another vital asset a State
sponsor may offer. Access to educational centres and experience that is not
easily accessible to organisations lacking comprehensive funding are other
forms of assistance. Finally, the grant of diplomatic safeguards and
facilities, such as immunity from extradition, diplomatic passports, the use of
embassies and other secure grounds, and diplomatic pouches for the shipment of
weapons or explosives by the State sponsor proves significant to multiple
terrorist groups.
·
The ISI (Inter-Services
Intelligence), is often accused of aiding the conduction of major terrorist
attacks, especially in India (South Asia), such as terrorism in Kashmir[10],
Indian Parliament attack of 2001, Varanasi bombings of 2006 and Mumbai Attacks
of 2008. The Intelligence service of Pakistan allegedly also trains and
recruits people for Taliban and Mujahideen, to attack Afghanistan and Indian
Kashmir respectively. The intelligence agencies of the United States of America
(North America) also concluded that the attacks on the Indian embassy in Kabul
in 2008 were also done by the Inter-Services Intelligence.[11]
Former President of Pakistan Parvez
Musharraf admitted to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (South Asia) training
militants of terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba to plot attacks in
Indian Kashmir and Taliban (that calls itself the Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan) to fight against the USSR, also known as the Union of Soviet
Socialists Republics or the Soviet Union.[12]
·
The Republic of Iraq was
accused by the United States of America of providing a safe haven and bases to Mujahedin-e-Khalq
(MEK), the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF),
and the Abu Nidal organization (ANO). It was removed from the United States of
America’s list of State-sponsors of terrorism multiple times, last being in
2004, after the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the overthrow of Saddam Hussain’s
regime.
·
The Bureau of
Counterterrorism of the United States of America currently has designated three
countries as State-sponsors of terrorism:[13]
|
Name of the Country |
Date
of Designation |
|
Syrian
Arab Republic (West Asia) |
December
29, 1979 |
|
Islamic
Republic of Iran (West Asia) |
January
19, 1984 |
|
Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea* (East Asia) |
November
20, 2017 |
·
The countries that were
in the list before were[14]:
|
Name
of the Country |
Date
of Designation |
Date
of Removal |
Reason
of Removal |
|
People’s
Democratic Republic
of Yemen (South Yemen) |
December
29, 1979 |
Date
unknown, 1990 |
Merged
with Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) to form the Republic of Yemen (West
Asia) |
|
The
Republic of Iraq (West
Asia) |
1.
December 29,1979 2.
Date unknown, 1990 |
1.
Date unknown, 1982 2.
September 25, 2004 |
1. To
allow US weapon companies to sell
weapons for the Iran- Iraq war 2.
2003 invasion and end of Saddam Hussain’s
reign |
|
The
State of Libya (North
Africa) |
December
29, 1979 |
May
15, 2006 |
Due
to the continuous dedication of Libya to the
renunciation of terrorism |
|
The
Republic of Cuba (Northern
Caribbean) |
March
1, 1982 |
May
29, 2015 |
Agreement
signed by the United States to Restore
relation with Cuba |
|
The
Republic of the Sudan**
(North East Africa) |
August
12, 1993 |
November
9, 2020 |
Paid
335 Million US Dollars in compensation to the families of the victims of the
1998 United States embassy bombings |
Some
countries have a large presence of terrorism. Few of them are listed below[15]:
1. The
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (South-Central
Asia): In the mid-1990s, Afghanistan became the hotbed of Islamic terror
operations. Several radical Islamic (mostly Sunni) terror groups used
Afghanistan as their preparation and operating base with the radical Taliban
government establishing power. Al Qaeda was a massive umbrella group that hired
and trained terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan from Pakistan, Afghanistan,
Central Asia and around the world. Al Qaeda, Al-Jihad, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, the
Islamic Party, the Armed Islamic Group, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and the Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan are some of the extremist organisations still active in
the region.
2. The
Islamic Republic of Iran (West Asia): For a long
time, Iran has been an influential promoter of Islamic extremism, with claims
made by other countries that it funds terrorist operations in Iraq. The Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security have
been active in organising and supporting terrorist activities and have tried to
advise a number of organisations to achieve their aims by using terrorism. A
number of militant groups, including the Lebanese Hezbollah, HAMAS, the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the PFLP-GC of Ahmad Jibril, have obtained
financing, safe havens, training and weapons in Iran.
3. The
Syrian Arab Republic (West Asia): Although
Syria continues to decrease its footprint in Lebanon, it still continues to
support and host Palestinian terrorist groups, and likely Iraqi ones. Few of
the Islamic extremists that continue to operate from Syria are HAMAS, the PIJ,
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, and the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Syria has now become a terror
base, where Islamic extremist jihadists from Europe, Asia and the Middle East
are battling to gain control of the country from the Assad government.
In
nearly all facets of their activities and assistance, terrorists are improving
their sophistication and skills. The productivity of these operations has been
improved by the aggressive application of new tools for information processing,
networking and intelligence. Technology surrounding guns and other firearms has
become more and more affordable, and the buying power of terrorist groups is
increasing constantly due to support from various countries. The ready
availability for any user with ample monetary resources enables well-funded
terrorists to match or surpass the sophistication of government
counter-measures taken by the States affected.[16]
Today,
most experts of the field agree that some parts of the Middle East, Pakistan
and Afghanistan are the main power centres of domestic and international
terrorism. Decades of corruption and greed of these States to assume more
political power has led to terrorist groups, especially the ones driven by
religious ideologies, to fill the void of a stable, selfless government in
these regions and manufacture a disturbing amount of religiously motivated terrorists
that are used as a pawn for political benefits.
There
are numerous impacts of State-supported acts of terrorism. Few of them are:
1. Direct
economic destruction due to liquidation of physical property and objects.[17]
2. Foreign
cynicism and increased nationalism
3. Warfare
between countries
4. Loss
of lives of civilians
5. Negative
impact on mental and physical health
6. Increase
in instances of racism, xenophobia and colourism.
Findings
The
secondary research method was used to collect the findings for the present
research paper. Documents referred for the study were published papers, news
articles, books and research websites.
The
findings of the study are as follows:
1. Terrorism
has existed since historical ages.
2. It
is used till this day to propagate ideologies and supress opposition or those
who are not from the same community or State as the perpetuators.
3. It
can be used for political gain.
4. Terrorism
can be domestic or transnational.
5. It
can be roughly divided into three types: revolutionary, sub-revolutionary and
establishment
6. State
can support terrorism for political gain by engaging in the terror act itself,
indirectly and unlawfully engaging itself in terrorism or sponsor terrorism by
funding and supporting non-State terrorist groups.
7. Acts
of violence and mistrust between countries can be curbed with agreements and
compensations.
8. Most
acts of sponsorship of terrorism by States undergo in the middle-east region.
9. The
countries that face the most violence and loss due to terrorism are mostly in
the middle-east as well.
10. Religion
is one of the most common tools used to turn civilians into terrorists.
11. According
to Charles Tilly, “Properly understood, terror is a strategy, not a creed.
Terrorists range across a wide spectrum of organizations, circumstances, and
beliefs”[18]
Conclusion
Terrorism
is a classic and a major political instrument. It refers to the usage of
unauthorised, unlawful, and most of the time immoral acts of violence by a
State on either its own civilians living within its territory or on another
State in order to intimidate, control, and supress groups or individuals who
practise non- compliance. Terrorism is of multiple types, depending on the
location of the target, nature of the perpetuators, aim of the attacks and the
reason behind the usually unjustified violence. Terrorism can be furthered
classified into different kinds, depending on the degree of involvement of
State in the act. Terrorist activities for political gain are mostly carried
out by rich and developed nations such as the Soviet Union in the 20th
century or the United States of America in the present times, or States that
get funded by the former, for example the misuse of funds by the governments of
the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the State of Palestine, and the victims
are countries that lack monetary funding but are rich in resources or
communities that are less in number or are the weaker section of the
population. Apart from having a huge impact on politics, terrorism supported by
States affects the economy and sentiments of the civilians as well. Terrorism
has unfortunately become one of the most commonly used way of executing
political agendas, and one of the easiest too for financially independent and
strong States.
[1] Soanes,
Hawker, Elliott. (2006). Oxford Dictionary of Current English. P. 945. New
York: Oxford University Press Inc.
[2] https://www.lexico.com/definition/terrorism
(accessed on November 28, 2020)
[3] https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/terrorism.pdf
[4] Jenkins. (July 27, 2020). Terrorism. Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/terrorism
(accessed on November 26, 2020)
[5] http://www.terrorism-research.com/state/
(accessed on November 26, 2020)
[6] https://theworldnews.net/et-news/state-terrorism-in-ethiopia
(accessed on November 25, 2020)
[7] Thurston, Robert W. (1998). Life and Terror in Stalin's Russia,
1934-1941. P. 139. Connecticut: Yale University Press.
[8] Watson, Cameron (2007). Basque Nationalism and Political Violence:
The Ideological and Intellectual Origins of ETA. P. 15. Reno: Center for Basque
Studies.
[9] https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/292064
(accessed on November 27, 2020)
[10] https://web.archive.org/web/20081202062723/http://www.cfr.org/publication/9514/
(accessed on November 30, 2020)
[11] https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/world/asia/01pstan.html
(accessed on November 29, 2020)
[12] https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/pakistan-supported-trained-terror-groups-like-lashkaretaiba-pervez-musharraf/article7813284.ece
(accessed on November 27, 2020)
[13] https://www.state.gov/state-sponsors-of-terrorism/
(accessed on November 25, 2020)
*North Korea; not to be confused
with Republic of Korea (South Korea)
[14] http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/4/15/what-is-the-state-sponsors-of-terrorism-list.html
(accessed on November 29, 2020)
**North Sudan; not to be confused
with Republic of South Sudan
[15] http://www.terrorism-research.com/state/countries.php
(accessed on November 29, 2020)
[16] http://www.terrorism-research.com/future/
(accessed on November 30, 2020)
[17] https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/080216/top-5-ways-terrorism-impacts-economy.asp
(accessed on November 29, 2020)
[18] https://kickfasr235.weebly.com/blog/philosophers-view-on-terrorism
(accessed on November 30, 2020)
Well written
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