What Accounts for The Rise in Terrorism as an International Security Issue?

Terrorism acts have increased in the recent past, attracting the global attention of security personnel as they seek to identify the main cause and underlying issues that motivate individuals to engage in terrorist acts. Rapoport (2013) and Duyvesteyn (2004) argued that terrorist acts that have taken place in the recent past are labeled as new. He justifies the concept of being new with the likes of new terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, that had not been heard before they attacked. New and organized groups are coming together with the aim of distracting the stability and peace of the world. Target areas of terrorist groups are areas where a large number of people are gathered, like it happened in the infamous September 11 attack or in core trade centers that support the economy of countries. Rapoport (3) suggested that aggression and frustration, as well as dispositions in the psychological wellbeing of individuals account for the rise of terrorism as an international issue. People have low tolerance for what they have and what they cannot possess, which triggers the negative feelings of deprivation. The Relative Deprivation Theory, as developed by Robert Gurr in the early 1970s assumes that deprivation triggers terrorism acts as it motivates individuals to engage in unlawful activities just because they can. Terrorists work in groups and comprise of young males and females, most of whom have a basic college education. Duyvesteyn (2004) suggested that strategically planning an attack requires consideration of various factors which requires people with sound minds. It also requires coordination of activities and communication amongst all members that will be involved in the attack. Studies on terrorist groups assume that academically bright people are some of the organizers and sponsors of terrorist activities.

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Political terrorism is also a significant factor that accounts for the rise in terrorism as an international security issue (Williams, 2012). Globally, countries are governed using different political ideologies with each nation focusing on the management of public resources, for the benefit of citizens living in such jurisdictions. Conflicts and disagreements arise between politicians as they want to remain in power and stamp their presence in the political industry. Politicians use different tactics to communicate with their political enemies, and terrorism has been one of the strategies embraced in the recent past (Haykel, 2016). Political terrorism is defined as the use of violence or threats to use war to reduce opposition from another authority. Anxiety and fear are created among the populations as they are in constant fear of influential political figures. Supporters of one politician might be intimidated and forced to live in fear. Terrorism works through manipulation and installation of fear to the target groups. Actualization of terrorism attacks increases fears among locals. In the early 1930s, super political powers like the Soviet Union, used terror tactics to maintain their control over their colonies (Williams, 2012). The use of terror is an old strategy that has worked as it instills fear and makes subjects submit to the political force. For instance, in the 1940s through to the 1960s, white supremacist organizations used violence and terror acts as a strategy to maintain the control of the Black Americans. Political intimidation can happen on a local, regional, or international level, where politicians in a country manipulate others in their nation or beyond their geographical location for personal gain.

Religious beliefs and interpretation of religion books accounts for the rise in terrorism as an international security issue (Haykel, 2016). Muslims, who are believed to be the largest members of terrorist movements like al-Qaeda (AQ) and Islamic State (IS) have strong beliefs in their religious practices. They assume that they are justified to fight against both internal and external enemies of their faith. The fights, according to the Quran, their sacred book, encourages its followers to do away with anyone and anything that has little or no tolerance of their belief. The armed violence religion is spread across the world, where young and new members continue to be recruited and trained on a daily basis on strategies they can use to attack others. Both the AQ and AI religious groups profess that killing individuals helps eliminate non-believers and leave a strong group that will subscribe to the true teachings of Muhammed. Their argument is that leaders in influential positions like politicians and militants have abandoned the true teachings of the Quran, and have instead introduced wayward ideas that the Islamic faith does not uphold. Therefore, the leaders have opened a leeway for enemies, which the two groups attempt to reduce. Their obligation to defend the Quran teachings motivates them to engage in holy war, jihad, as they are assured that Allah, their Supreme Being, will reward them for their acts (Haykel, 2016). Elite groups of modern Arab states like Egypt, Algeria, amongst others do not conform to the belief that fighting is a show of strength, rather, they consider the rise of Islamist groups like the AQ and the IS as a threat to the stability of countries. As a result, the IS and AQ groups have responded to the allegations of such modernism ideas by engaging in war. Constant and regular attacks on unsuspecting locals have successfully been launched by outlawing AQ and IS groups to affirm that they are still in control.

The continued recruitment and training of young male and female individuals that join the AQ and IS groups has also been one of the contributing factors to the increase of international security in the world. For instance, in 2015, reports on the transportation of tens of thousands recruits to Iraq and Syria were released to the public, whereas social media platforms believed to belong to IS and AQ supporters were tracked down (Haykel, 2016). The modern development of technology has also seen communication between illegal groups thrive since they can easily exchange information and plan on attacks. The terrorist groups also measure their success by their ability to spread fear and cause international media attention, since they assume that the negative publicity promotes their ideas among different target audiences, leading to more recruits in the future. The terrorist groups have also been in the recent past to release videos taken during their training sessions that display their preparedness to attack as well as the persecutions to non-believers.

Right-wing extremism beliefs also play a significant role in the rise of terrorism acts as one of the issues affecting the international scene (Baysinger, 2006). Theological beliefs assume that most right-wing groups were motivated by individuals that wanted to have a Christina Identity, where most Jews were believed to be Eve's and Lucifer's offspring, while the whites are regarded as beasts of the wild. This concept is popularly known as the seed-line ideology, which then justifies the need to do away with all non-whites from a region, especially the descendants of Eve and Lucifer. Comparably, the British-Israel Christian Identify believes that they are the chosen people of God, as opposed to the Jews. The conflicting ideologies form the foundation under which people fight against those that do not share their religious practices, with the view that believers are doing away with the bad seed, and preventing it from spreading. Racism in the Southern States and the practice of Christian Identify are also believed to be some of the fueling factors towards extremism. (Baysinger (2006 argued that right-wing groups attract followers for other distinct activities apart from religion. Some of the activities include munitions groupings and the use of violence activities using the name of God. People hiding in religion has been a practice that many persons have practiced in order to reduce attention from the public, and also attract unsuspecting crowds of people to follow their teachings.

Islam is not the only religion that attracts organized groups that distract stability and peace of others, as Judaism and Hinduism have also been accredited to produce terrorists, famously known as Zealots and Thugs, respectively. The terror groups from each religion were unique and tactics used to be almost similar, which many scholars and authors likened to rituals. The religious terrorist groups had traditionally believed that only men would be used to reach their goals, but with time, deferment from cultural beliefs were abandoned and women considered among the most important assets in fulfilling some strategic goals of terrorism. For instance, women would be used to enhance communication and in transportation of ammunition from one place to another.

According to Rapoport (2013), terrorists' perception and positive thoughts about the honor and the hero titles they would receive after successfully engaging in terrorist acts is also one of the reasons that contributes to the increase of terrorism acts in the world, affecting the global peace and stability. Most terrorists are expected to throw bombs or other weapons that will cause mass deaths, meaning that they are expected to engage in suicide bombing acts. Anyone chosen to throw the weapon is considered to be a brave person that is ready and willing to give their lives for the success of their terrorist group. Rapoport (2013) stated that such individuals are described as martyrs and noble, as terrorism was considered a strategy as opposed to an end. Every member of a terrorist group would strive to push towards being the best and take the honorable role of throwing a bomb or detonating a mass weapon destroyer. Further, targeting influential people in the society, like political rebels, attracted the attention of the public and media, which then increased the publicity that a terrorist group received.

Modern terrorist groups aim at causing the highest damage they can during their attack, targeting the destruction of property and killing the lives of innocent people. The development t of new mechanical and chemical weapons has also fueled the rise of terrorism acts in the world (Duyvesteyn, 2004; Rapoport, 2013). Traditionally, terrorists have used conventional tactics and instruments like explosives and small weapons that are concealable. For instance, in the mid-1980s attack on the U.S barracks, explosives were used. Technical knowhow has also increased among the terrorists due to the development of technology in the world. Nuclear material is also used to design weapons so that the number of victims affected per terrorist attack can increase compared to the those that took place in the past. For instance, sarin gas was used in Tokyo, while anthrax letters were sent after the infamous September 2001 that took place in the United States. Terrorists aimed at using more lethal weapons (Rapoport, 2013). As security personnel around the world are working hard to curb the rise of possible terrorist attacks, rebel groups are also on the lookout for new strategies that can be implemented in the next attack.

Conclusion

Duyvesteyn (2004) affirmed that network structure in modern terrorism acts are more organized, and groups work with different communication networks that enhance the movement of information from one place to another. Hierarchical organization structures are mostly used by terrorist groups, meaning that a centralized control structure is adopted, just like the strategies used in formal office setups. Further, the fact that terrorist groups also receive financial support from political leaders and some weal...