MEASURING AND UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF TERRORISM

World War, colonial governments used the
term terrorism to negatively label groups
fighting for national liberation. These
groups preferred to label themselves
freedom fighters.
There is no internationally accepted, unitary
definition of terrorism. A brief review of the
literature on terrorism reveals over 100
definitions. Official and unofficial definitions
of terrorism today serve the political, legal,
social or defence purpose of the particular
government or organisation that defines it.
Terrorism has variously been described as
both a tactic and an ideology; a justified
response to oppressive power and an
unjustifiable assault on humanity; a criminal
and a last resort of the powerless.
There are at least six different approaches to
defining terrorism that can be identified
among the various definitions used by
different countries:
1. The first approach does not provide a
separate national definition of terrorism.
Countries that use this approach are
signatories to one or more International
Treaties and use the definitions contained
in these treaties to identify and deal with
acts of terrorism.
2. A second approach defines terrorism
broadly in terms of disruption of the
public order and/or intimidation of the
population. Such a broad definition of
terrorism might encompass any act that
is seen to challenge political power such
as protests.
3. Some countries adopt a very broad
definition of the terms of the acts,
intentions, results or focus that are
considered to be terrorism. Such
definitions are seen to be problematic
because they are subjective and can,
potentially, apply to a range of actions
selectively.
4. Other countries adopt a narrow
definition of terrorism that specifically
describes the kinds of actions, intentions,
results or focus that are considered
terrorism. In many of these instances,
terrorism is confined to an act that harms
the State, its representatives and/or
organisations.
5. Another approach is to define terrorism
in the Criminal Code as a criminal
offence. In some cases criminal offences
regarded as terrorism are specifically
defined. In other cases, terrorism is
referred to in the Criminal Code but there
are no specific offences defined.
6. The final approach to defining terrorism
attempts to include both the reasons or
motivations of terrorists and their aims.
This approach acknowledges that
terrorism has many dimensions and
cannot be defined in terms of a violent
tactic alone. It takes into account the
motivations for terrorism as distinct from
other criminal acts of violence.
Despite the lack of an internationally
accepted unitary definition of terrorism, most
definitions of terrorism contain key features
that can be considered essential aspects of
any definition of terrorism:
• terrorism uses violence
• terrorism targets non-combatants
• terrorism is intended to influence,
intimidate or coerce
• terrorism is motivated by political, s
ocial or ideological objectives
• terrorism creates a state of terror
and fear.
VIOLENT EXTREMISM
In recent years, the term ‘violent extremism’
has been preferred to terrorism in both
academic and policy circles. Violent
extremism includes acts of terrorism but is
considered a more comprehensive term and
one that avoids the historical legacy and
political labelling of terrorism. Like terrorism,
violent extremism is violence that is
motivated by extreme political, social or
ideological objectives. Violent extremism
acknowledges that extremism in and of itself
is not necessarily harmful.
Preventing and countering violent extremism
are sometimes described as the ‘soft’ side of
counterterrorism. However, in practice, PVE
and CVE, are very different to traditional
counterterrorism that largely focusses on
military and legal responses by states. In
contrast PVE and CVE involve all civil society
actors and are aimed at addressing the root
causes of terrorism through approaches that
target the social, political, environmental and
individual conditions in which terrorism
thrive. Consequently, methods to counter
violent extremism include improving access
to and quality of education; empowering
women; ensuring political stability; interfaith
dialogue and youth engagement.
Violent extremism is best approached as a
social issue with security implications. Where
violent extremism is defined primarily as a
national security issue, governments risk
imbalanced responses that rely heavily on the
security apparatus. Responses that are heavily
skewed towards punitive measures and legal
remedies fail to address the drivers and
underlying factors that cause violent
extremism in the first place.
There are many explanations, theories and
models that attempt to explain why
individuals and groups turn to violent
extremism. There is no single or simple
answer as to why young men (and women)
join the global violent jihadist movement and
take up arms with the Islamic State (ISIL); nor
is there any one single formula to explain why
people become attracted to Neo-Nazi groups
that preach violence based on ideas of racial
superiority and inferiority. Each individual’s
trajectory towards violence is unique in its
own way, though there are clear push and pull
factors that act as drivers to violent
extremism. Environments where there is a
lack of effective governance, or where the
government is perceived to be illegitimate
feed individual and group grievances that can
be directed into violence. Societies where
social inclusion and social mobility are lacking
create conditions where individuals can feel
excluded and isolated from the political,
economic and social structures. Such
conditions, when coupled with a sense of
injustice and narrative of victimhood that is
exploited by terrorists create a toxic
environment for violent extremism to thrive.
Much attention has also focussed on the role
of the internet in promoting the growth of
violent extremism. This aspect has
particularly received attention since the
growth and development of ISIS. With an
online media presence comparable to some
of the worlds’ biggest multinationals, ISIL
has managed to appeal to a new generation
of violent extremists via well positioned
online media. While much significance is
attributed to the ISIL online media strategy,
we must also keep in mind that terrorists
have always relied on communication
technologies to spread their message and
draw international attention to their cause.
The role of the internet and technology in
promoting and growing the threat of violent
extremism is still not fully understand though
there is general consensus that the internet
enables and accelerates violent extremism in
the modern age.
GLOBAL TERRORISM INDEX 2015 | Expert Contributions
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