terrorism - causes

Question 1

what are political causes of terrorism?

Answer 1

• dictatorships
• western foreign policy
• nationalism

Question 2

explain dictatorships

Answer 2

• some countries are run by dictatorships or corrupt goverments
• these oppressive governments make decisions that aren’t fair on majority of people in a country and as there are no elections they can be in power for many years
• groups of people may take up arms against dictator as they can’t acheive change by politics

Question 3

what is an example for dictatorships?

Answer 3

FOR EXAMPLE: in syria, rebels have fought against the dictatorship of president bashar al-assad who is accused of corruption and human rights abuse

Question 4

explain the western foreign policy

Answer 4

• since the 9/11 attacks on the US the west have been engaged in fighting ‘the war of terror’
• this mainly involves fighting terrorism in the middle east in countries such as iraq and afghanistan
• islamic extremists despise this intrusion and influence of the west in the middle east, and this can fuel more terror attacks

Question 5

what is an example for western foreign policy?

Answer 5

FOR EXAMPLE: islamic extermists may witness the deaths of innocent muslim friends and family members at the hands of bombs dropped by the west
this radicalises them into revenge

Question 6

explain nationalism

Answer 6

• nationalism is the identification with ones own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations
• there are people who live in countries or regions that want independence but feel they can’t acheive it peacefully
• these people therefore turn to violence and terrorism in order to try and achieve their nationalist goal

Question 7

what is an example for nationalism?

Answer 7

FOR EXAMPLE: these people are are sometimes reffered to as ‘seperatists’ an example of this is ETA in the Basque region of spain who officially ended their campaign in 2018

Question 8

what are social causes of terrorism?

Answer 8

• religious extermism
• discrimination

Question 9

explain religious extremism and give an example

Answer 9

• religious extremists are people who commit terrorist attacks in the name of their religion.
• islamic terrorists believe that they will be rewarded for martyrdom and see it as a step closer to ‘paradise’ and ultimate salvation once they die
  FOR EXAMPLE: many terrorist attacks of the last decade such as the ariana grande attack were islamic extremists

Question 10

explain discrimination and give an example

Answer 10

• if a person from a particular racial, religious or ethnic group within a country faces discrimination, this can lead to a feeling of isolation and alienation
• these groups may become jaded towards society and become radicalised in retaliation of discrimination they have faced
  FOR EXAMPLE: a person may feel discriminated within society and retaliate with violent acts of terror alone,such as committing a lone wolf attack, or with a group with similar feelings

Question 11

what are economic causes of terrorism?

Answer 11

• poverty

Question 12

explain poverty and give an example

Answer 12

• many people who live in terrorist hotspots like iraq, syria, somalia live in poverty
• seeing the economic and social differences between them and the west can infuriate people living in underdeveloped countries, increasing tension and hostility
• this allows terrorist groups to gain attention and recruit poor young people allowing them to gain a potential wage as fighters
• FOR EXAMPLE: poverty has driven young men in somalia to join the terror group al-shabaab