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Psychological factors that motivate terrorist organisations
Psychological factors that motivate terrorist organisations
Psychological factors that motivate terrorist organisations
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The mind of a terrorist is a very unique and mysterious thing. There are many things that can create different aspects inside a terrorist oganization. With a set of constant new recruits and persons that are willing to commit sucidie terrorism the terror organizations can be extrememly effective in achieving their goals for their organizations. Recruits can be reached through many forms of communications and once into a group that is radicalized they can become suicide terrorist in order to fulfill their own needs. Recruits into terrorism come from all over the world, from different cultures, and grew up with different ways of life. Each individual recruit will have his or her own reasons to become radicalized into a terrorist organization.
What internally drives a terrorist’s motivation varies from subject to subject. While the average American citizen would likely be quick to point terrorists hate the western way of life and what it represents, the issue is far more complex. Simon Cottee’s article “What Motivates Terrorists?” (2015), looks at various levels of motivation. Prior definitions of terrorism looked at the defining cause as possibly psychological abnormalities within in the individual (Cottee, 2015). As studies have evolved, the focus has shifted to the environment in which the terrorist is surrounded. While certainly there is cases in which a person who is mentally unstable could be an ideal target for terrorist propaganda, the number of cases involving mental
Many terrorists believe that their religion is the only true religion, and they use it to justify violence (“Islamic Terrorism”). Most Muslim terrorists follow Jihad. Jihad is an Islamic perception that the way to integrate their religion is by massive force (“Of True Muslims and Terrorists”). Jihad is considered the “sixth pillar” of faith in Islam because it is the constant fight towards good. It is the idea of focusing on God and turning away from those that oppose God (David E. Long, 91). The terrorists believe that their religion is what everyone should follow, so they would naturally require personnel in power in Muslim states to either convert to their religion or resign from their terms. They will first threaten a leader that if they do not change, the terrorists will use violence. Sometimes, violent acts come about without any warning or previous threats (“Of True Muslims and Terrorists”). Islam is a proselytizing religion, which means it uses violence to convert people to its faith. This is because, in the ...
The horror of domestic terrorism is a problem all Americans should be concerned with, especially since there is a violent subculture in this nation which seeks out and indoctrinates people into their way of life. The crime that I will be focusing on during the course of this paper will be domestic terrorism, specifically hate groups such as the KKK, and various other white supremacy groups. The theory that I will be using to try and explain these crimes will be subcultural theory, but more especially the Subculture of Violence theory provided to us by Marvin Wolfgang and Franco Ferracutti. The reason I will be using his specific subcultural theory is because I feel that it bests describes how the people in these situations are desensitized to the evils they do and then begin to believe that the acts and beliefs are normal, or superior to all other views.
My first secondary source is the book, “Blood and Rage: A Cultural History of Terrorism” written by Michael Burleigh. In his book, he investigates the nature of terrorism, with its origins in the West to the current global acts of terrorism. Burleigh examines the roots of terrorism in the last 150 years such as the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Russian Nihilists, Red Brigades, Black International, Tamil Tigers and Al Qaeda. He also explores the political impact of those who cause violence and those who are affected by it. He shows that the groups are not only religiously motivated but are also motivated by ideological and separatist motives. He further shows how contrary to popular belief, terrorist are big fans of technology and much of their agitation is driven by the acts of Western Governments themselves. He towards the end of his book shows the positive side of his book and gives recommendations on how terrorism can be defeated.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD) are two stress disorders that occur after a traumatizing experience. PTSD is defined as a disorder that follows a distressing event outside the range of normal human experience and that is characterized by features such as intense fear, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, and reliving the event. Acute stress disorder is defined as a disorder that is characterized by feelings of anxiety and helplessness and caused by a traumatic event. It also usually occurs within a month of the event and lasts from 2 days to 4 weeks. Dealing with experiences like the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks in 2001 were difficult for people and easily classified as traumatizing experiences. For times like these when a large number of people experience a traumatizing experience and will probably develop PTSD or ASD, there is no precedent for how to treat them. The only tool that can be used at these times is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), to classify the disorder. No real solution exists for a treatment process for an incident of this scale. The three journal articles I will be using show statistical data about how people dealt with these experiences and what percent of them developed PTSD or ASD. They also show how many people showed signs of these disorders but never contacted a professional to help treat it. Even as far away as Brussels, expatriates of the United States felt the effects of the attacks of September 11th.
More and more in the world today, circumstances have brought about changes in how members have used radical protesting. One way used to protest a situation is through terrorism, and the people who exercise violence in the pursuit of what they hold to be just causes are alternately known as terrorists. This movement, although viewed as barbaric, requires a person to view the needs and goals of a particular cause to be greater than that of the well being of others. There are certain characteristic traits that can be found in the majority of terrorism, which can identify a profile of a terrorist’s mind. A terrorist is not just an insane person, but also possibly a person that has been forced either by personal decision or by situations beyond control to choose an “insane” method to achieve an unachievable goal.
Ever since the Muslim extremists attacked the World Trade Centers, the word extremist fits in the same category as being a terrorist also, known as the suicide bomber. People never know when a tragedy such as a bombing could happen, some examples could be: Boston Marathon, Poe Elementary School bombing, and in 2005 The University of Oklahoma bombing. Just think a bombing could occur at any day time or hour.
Rational choice is based on the belief criminals act in a rational way. Rational choice could be related to terrorism when you understand how terrorist acts, their beliefs, and their actions. Terrorism happens when there are suitable targets, motivated offenders, especially without strong ties to the community, such as those who are unemployed, and absence of guardians such as the police, which would be explained by rational choice theory (Anderton & Carter, 2005). Like other forms of violent crime terrorist attacks are usually carried out by young males (Silke, A. 2003). This is important fact to know for law enforcement to know who to target. A Rational choice view of terrorism has certain factors to consider such as timing, international
Over the past century, terrorism has advanced from random killings to enormous plans for terrorist groups. To understand terrorism, you must first define it. Terrorism as we all know it is hard to define and understand, and has many different definitions as it is used widely. The word "terrorism" stems from the word "terror", which means to instill fear in. People become terrorists when they take the actions towards instilling fear and terror upon people to prove a certain point or agenda.
In support of my argument on terrorist I will be referring to the terrorism groups Al-Qaeda and its off shoot Isis. These terrorism groups are broad base rogue militant army’s fuelled by hatred and violence on the western
Terrorism is however not brought about by mental breakdown or genetic makeup of its perpetrators. Terrorism can be classified as a cult that develops gradually and instills different perceptions to the minds of its followers (Stahelski 1). Terrorism can be easily created using social psychological condition, one of the common processes in psychology for altering human reasoning and behavior.
The thought of knowing that a terrorist attack is coming but not knowing how to stop it is a very scary thought. Some people when they become scared during such situations would be willing to do almost anything to find out any information about the attack while others would try to stay within their moral convictions and the law. There are many different theories in the world, and they would all have a different answer to the dilemma that was presented.
I enjoyed reading your post. Although the theories that were covered this week attempt to explain us the process of radicalization, in my opinion, I think that each case will be different because the combination of factors will be different in each case. Many homegrown terrorists are radicalized due to jihad or misleading interpretation of Islam, while other homegrown terrorists are not religious at all and have other motives. However, the main factors that are usually found in most cases is crisis and deprivation. When someone is going through a crisis or deprivation, that is the most vulnerable moment in which a person is at risk of becoming radicalized. I think it is very hard for law enforcement to prevent someone from becoming radicalized
After 9/11 has induced negative attitudes towards Muslim peoples who tend to be strongly associated with any act of terrorism. The media has played a colossal role in developing such negative association wherein it constantly portrays Muslim people in combination with violent terrorist acts. It does so in a way that they both go hand-and-hand. In other words, it has made it as though the Islamic religion is synonymous with terrorism. The media has perpetuated Muslim stereotypes over the years that followed the 9/11 incident. Because of this, society has developed, and still has developed, this prejudiced mindset about the Islamic religion and the Muslim communities around the world. People immediately assume that any violent act being depicted through the media is the direct result of Muslims. They automatically generate this idea that the act was performed by a Muslim terrorist even when they were not involved whatsoever. Regardless of whether it was true or not, Islamic religion and its Muslim adherents are at the top of societies’ agenda just waiting for the evidence to be generated so that they can then safely blame them for such world affairs. Again, this has led to the attack on the Islamic religion itself wherein people have come to postulate Islam as an act of oppression, violence and hatred towards non-Muslims. Anti-Muslim sentiments and campaigns have resulted from such misinformation the media has been generating and feeding its viewers.
Terrorism is used around the world to create fear and influence the public on political views (Siegel, 489). There are four views of terrorism including the psychological view, socialization view, ideological view, and the alienation view. A religious terrorist would most likely fit under the ideological view. In this view the terrorist feels the need to change a wrong opinion and believes that, because they are sacrificing themselves for something they believe so strongly in, it justifies the damage and harm done to innocent people (Siegel, 490). They use terror to create fear in anyone who opposes them and attract followers to their religion. In short, terrorism is widely used for political reasons but religion has been linked to the violence as well.