An Analogy Between Terrorist Organizations and Cancer Cells Essay

Introduction

Contemporary organization theories do not provide adequate models to understand the traits of terrorist organizations. Despite resembling other types of organizations in various ways such as organizing, planning, controlling, and execution of plans, they have additional traits which make them exceptional. Understanding how they are run or work would require new organizational approaches and theories (Jongman, 2017). However, if observed keenly, it is clear that terrorist organizations display characteristics that are similar to ones presented by a biological phenomenon known as cancer. This paper attempts to explain the emergence and spread of terrorist organizations by investigating the behaviour exhibited by cancerous cells from their appearance, circulating, and their effect on the surrounding cells in the human body.

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Terrorist Organizations

Many social sciences have focused on how terrorism emerges and spreads in the Islamic country. after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the concept of "terrorist organizations" has attracted the attention of researchers from multiple disciplines ranging from psychology to religious studies. More specifically, researchers are interested in establishing the relationship between Islamic countries and their involvement in many of the most dangerous attacks in the world. Unfortunately, there is yet to be a consensus definition of such organizations, their characteristics, or principles that act as their guidelines. As a result, there is no clear explanation of the tendency of Muslim involvement in terrorist activities such the Al-Qaeda and ISIS in the Middle East. In short, terrorism is still a largely contested idea. Current organizational theories tools do not offer sufficient guideline to defining a terrorist organization. questions such as "What should be considered a terrorist organization?" "What are the primary causes of terrorism?" are yet to get logical answers.

Kaplan, (2017) argues that there are over a hundred definitions that fit the term terrorism. Some of the descriptions in this bracket include domestic terrorism, international terrorism, religious terrorism, state-sponsored terrorism, and state repression among many others. Notably, the term is mostly associated with political violence. Those who support this idea defend their position by stating that terrorist organizations operate exclusively for political reasons. Despite, most of the defining criteria mentioned above having some aspect of politics, religious terrorism is a common occurrence which disapproves this definition.

Cancerous Cells

Cancerous cells refer to the abnormal body cells which divide without control to invade other tissues in the body. They are different from normal cells in that they reproduce uncontrollably and in most cases end up forming tumours in the body. Normal cells divide in a controlled way to provide the body with just the required number. They die when they get damaged or old and are immediately replaced with new cells. This natural process of being formed, serving the body and dying when old or broken does not always happen in this order. Sometimes, an unknown signal may activate some of the cells causing them not to die when they have outlived their purpose in the body. Instead, they accumulate in the body which does not need them as it produces new cells to serve the use of the ones that refuse to die. The accumulation of the old cells forms tumours in the body.

Cancer cells are malignant body tissues that divide or reproduce when they should not and fail to die when the time comes. Such cells do not depict any behaviour similar to the normal healthy cells, and the biological rules of the body do not seem to apply to them. Therefore, cancer can only be regarded as a breakdown of the standard functions and controls of the body on its cells. Gene mutations are usually used as the explanation of this breakdown. Tumours are as a result of variations of critical genes in the body. However, when these mutations occur on small scales, they result in changes in the structure of the cells. Additionally, outside sources such as exposure to radiation have caused the transformation of normal cells into cancer cells.

An analogy between Terrorist Organizations and Cancer Cells

Methods

Terrorist organizations execute their operations in manners that are more or less the same as cancer cells. For instance, there is a striking similarity between the mobility of the organizations to that of cancer cells. Cancer cells spread throughout the body through metastasis and invasion. Metastasis refers to the process by which the cells penetrate the lymphatic and blood vessels to be circulated throughout the body. The cancer cells then invade the body tissues. Turning to terrorism, metastasis can be seen where the organizations heavily depend on the internet and other telecommunication systems to penetrate social networks to recruit their members or execute their operations. These groups exploit information technologies and use them to their advantage to maximise the effectiveness of their attacks. For example, online communication systems are faster and more secure making their conversations hidden from authorities.

Secrecy

Cancer cells are known to be secretive which makes it hard to find them in the early stages. It is not until the cells have reached the targeted tissues and started performing their effects on them that they are visible. The whole operation of being circulated through the body is conducted in the unimaginable level of privacy. Terrorist organizations are similar to the cells. They seek to achieve their goals with utmost efficiency. Accordingly, their operations are carried out in a very clandestine manner. Secrecy is one of the building blocks of a terrorist organization (Rapoport, 2013). Their communications and money transactions are conducted using untraceable means ensuring a minimum possible level of risk and exposure. They guarantee that intelligence agencies or law enforcement cannot detect their activities by exploiting software and web pages to improve anonymity.

Autonomy

Cancer cells are unlike normal cells that have to be attached to a substratum to survive. Because they can operate without being connected to anything, cancer cells can function as independent constituents of the body. They can, therefore, disobey the commands of the body and disregard the demands of the environment they live in. Bafna, & Batra, (2010) identified the independence of these cells to operate without anchorage as the most striking feature of cancer cells. When comparing terrorist organizations to this feature, the similarity is remarkable. Terror groups are known to operate without physical resources such as buildings or offices, and their activities go on just fine. They produce almost in every physical condition. Interestingly, they are spread over various countries and do not have any headquarters or the common hierarchical leadership structures and yet operate more efficient than multinational corporations. They are composed of distinct operational groups which are separated from each other but still work together (Kaplan, 2017).

Increased Supply Requirement

Bafna, & Batra, (2010) found out that cancer cells consume more oxygen and nutrients in the body than the normal cells. This is because they need to grow and reproduce quickly and spread throughout the body at faster speeds. In the same manner, terrorist organizations usually require substantial amounts of resources to finance their operations. First, they need a lot of money which must also be laundered successfully through the internet so that the sources or the recipients cannot be traced. Some of the activities they undertake to raise the finances include financial fraud, arms dealing, drug trafficking, modern-day slavery, and falsification of documents. These activities create barriers in society by disrupting the usual way of life (Jongman, 2017).

Conclusion

Defining terrorist organizations has over the years proven to be a difficult task owing to the multifaceted and multidimensional nature of terrorism. As a result, no single theory can explain the various dimensions under the term. Therefore, it is essential that these organizations be explained from an out of the box perspective. Explaining terrorist organizations by comparing the similar traits with cancerous cells provides insight into the characteristics of an organization that falls under this category. However, it is necessary to mention that this approach only identifies the organization through the traits. The definition of the same cannot be derived from this approach. All in all, terrorist organizations and cancer cells have a lot in common.

References

Bafna, S., Kaur, S., & Batra, S. K. (2010). Membrane-bound mucins: the mechanistic basis for alterations in the growth and survival of cancer cells. Oncogene, 29(20), 2893.

Jongman, A. J. (2017). Political terrorism: A new guide to actors, authors, concepts, databases, theories, and literature. Routledge.

Kaplan, A. (2017). The counter-terrorism puzzle: A guide for decision makers. Routledge.

Rapoport, D. C. (2013). Inside terrorist organizations. Routledge.

Seib, P., & Janbek, D. M. (2010). Global terrorism and new media: The post-Al Qaeda generation. Routledge.

Yilmaz, S. (2013). An analogy between cancer cells and terrorist organizations. Uluslararasi Yonetim Iktisat ve Isletme Dergisi, 9(19), 347-364.