April-June 2013 - Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies

the growing realisation among defence analysts of the futility of
long drawn stand-alone military operations to end terrorism in
any particular theatre.
Two concepts in particular, among scores cited in the volume, will
interest the readers in understanding why one takes recourse to
violence. It is the situational and individual input variables that
build the personality of an individual. The situational input
variables may include provocation and frustration, whereas
individual input variables are related to personality and biology.
According to the social learning theory, an act of violence may
seem personally and socially acceptable when considered
serving a moral principle. Acts of violence and aggression will be
readily learnt when a motivated-to-learn person observes others
doing them. What is dangerous is that the recourse to violence,
according to this, is taken not only by terrorists but also by those
involved in planning and conducting counterterrorism strategies.
They may change the moral value of killing to make it immune
from self-censuring restraint. The “rogue” elements among the
security forces may be victims of the theory as they find social
acceptability for their immoral acts. This paradox, according to
the authors, cannot possibly be solved even through giving
socially tolerable labels such as “war on terror”, and will remain a
challenge for democratic societies and countries that are
expected to justify counter-violence, resulting in what is
commonly referred to as human rights violations.
The other is the assumption of the terror management theory,
which stipulates that people are motivated by their latent fear of
death and desire to transcend their inevitable demise. One way
that allows people to deny their morality is by attaching the self
to something larger than oneself, which will continue to exist long
after their death. Thus, aggrieved people are able to find
solidarity and hope for a better future in an organisation, often
directed by a charismatic leader that uses a compelling ideology
to elevate the struggle against the perceived oppressor to a
“sacred” level that construes the killing of innocents as justified
and even necessary. The example cited in this case, is the
message of Osama bin Laden that America had ruthlessly
belittled the Ummah and therefore, hostility towards America
was a religious duty. The ideology used can be religious, secular
and even atheistic but becomes increasingly sacred - and thus
beyond question or rational debate. Groups advocating suicide
killings portray the action as self-sacrifice to win Allah's favour
and liberation from sins. However, the authors have been
emphatic in asserting that religion is seldom the problem or a
cause of terrorism. It is the religious fervour and dogma, which
are often used to legitimise acts of terror.
After elucidating on psychosocial issues, the second half of the
compilation focuses on psychosocial avenues to counter
terrorism. The most common counterterrorism strategy in vogue
today is the withholding of political concessions, granting political
concessions, or providing peaceful outlets for political change.
This “strategic model” presupposes that terrorists are rational
actors who attack civilians to achieve political ends, and is based
on antiquated views of the classical model of organisational
theory that members participate in an organisation to merely
achieve its goals. It has been argued on the basis of theoretical
and empirical evidences that terrorists are rational people and in
conformity with the “natural systems model”, join organisations
to achieve social solidarity and not their official political agenda.
Therefore, terrorist organisations seek to prolong their existence
even when doing so impedes its official goal. If terrorists attach
utmost importance to the social benefits of using terrorism, a
strong case has been made for a re-look at the current counter
strategies based on reducing terrorism's political utility.
For devising a counter strategy, the study of choice of targets by
terrorists has been highlighted. This will not only allow hardening
the targets according to their vulnerability, but also helps
anticipate how terrorists will respond to situational interventions
thus continually facilitating the renewal of counterterrorism
agencies' defences. A sound suggestion emanates regarding the
use of the Internet to counter terrorism propaganda through
scholars and nongovernmental organisations. Strong legal
measures towards cyber security, as laid out in the ITU's Global
Strategic Report of 2008, have been recommended. The
importance of ethical professional interrogation of terrorists as a
sound counter terrorism strategy has been discussed at length.
Seeking to attack the underlying ideology and the conditions that
sustain violent Islamist terrorism in Indonesia through educating
people is the theme of one particular chapter. The pesantren,
largely rural based centres of exclusively Islamic education, have
started teaching secular subjects and provide vocational training
up to university level thanks to the 1989 Indonesian Education
Law that equates madrasas and pesantren to “secular schools”
who must employ the national curricula issued by the Ministries
of National Education and Religious Affairs. The recent
breakdown of order in states like Libya, Syria, Sudan, Somalia,
and Yemen has created breeding grounds for terrorist groups to
increase their influence. The Muslim Ummah is increasingly
disturbed and politically radicalised, not so much by Al Qaedalike
groups but by socio-political movements like the Muslim
Brotherhood. The Indonesian example should serve as a model
to prevent youth falling prey to extremism and violence.
Recruitments by Islamist extremists will have to be checked,
images of leaders reduced to obscurity, their narratives publicly
falsified and citizens reached out to creatively communicate a
positive narrative favouring progress, cooperation, and justice.
The centre-stage spirituality needs to occupy, as an upholder of
peace and non-violence, has been flagged in a number of papers.
Most religions share core values of love and compassion. People
have to be reminded of their religious compassionate teachings
to reduce perceived hostility. The voice of hatred has to be
muted. It has rightly been argued that spirituality will have to play
a great constructive role in once again leading human history
towards a new age of progress.
The compendium is a must read for those entrusted with the task
of formulating policies to prevent terrorism and to devise
counterterrorism strategies. It will be equally useful for those
involved in counterterrorism operations. The military option is
easy to launch, but its deleterious effects are well recognised.
Therefore, societies will have to choose the right mix of
instruments, including psychosocial prescriptions, if spiralling
violence initiated by acts of terror followed by counterterror
violence by the state is to be checked. It is the psychosocial
effects that make terrorism “tick” and therefore, the key
challenge lies in understanding and counteracting these
psychosocial consequences.
Readers unfamiliar with psychosocial theories and terminology
may struggle slightly in understanding certain concepts
enumerated in the volume. However, due credit must be given to
the authors for relating various concepts to field examples,
making the narrative easy to understand and an extremely useful
addition to the literature available on countering terrorism.
South Asia Plus 39