Terrorism – Old and New
August 5th, 2009 by SocProf and tagged Globalization, Mass Violence, Networks, Religious Fundamentalism, Terrorism
For anyone familiar with the current literature on terrorism (especially Bruce Hoffman or Mark Juergensmeyer), there is not much that is new in this article by Peter R. Neumann of the International Center for the Study of Radicalization. However, it is a good and very clear introduction to the new dimensions of terrorism. Neumann identifies three specifically new characteristics.
First, a change in organization structure related to an ideological shift:
In other words, and to used Mary Douglas’s concepts as in my previous posts, the shift has been from the tribe to the grid. “Old” terrorism was often nation-based and hierarchical. Think Baader-Meinhof or Action Directe. Once the organization had been decapitated, it usually fell apart or at least was never as active as it used to be.
The shift from tribe to grid has allowed terrorist groups to organize themselves as networks (Al Qaeda) and to become, truly transnational and deterritorialized, that is, fully global. In a sense, Al Qaeda is to nationalist terrorist groups what a transnational corporation is to a national company. Al Qaeda is a network. It has a leadership structure but is still heavily decentralized and operates more like a franchise.
Second: increased fundamentalist religiosity:
Throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s, the dominant ideologies were nationalist (post-colonial) or Marxist. By the 1980s, we also saw emerge right-wing terrorism, especially in the United States. However, by the end of the 20th century, there was no question that the dominant terrorist ideology was fundamentalist religion.
And third, from narrow targets to indiscriminate killings (indiscriminate and high body count is a mark of religious terrorism):
For religious terrorists, there are no innocent civilians. Every member of the target category is a legitimate target.
This does not mean, of course, that other types of terrorism have completely disappeared but there is no doubt that many groups that used to make headlines a few decades ago have been retired either through law enforcement or through integration into legitimate political processes. The groups that truly pose a terrorist danger in the twenty first century are of religious nature. Beyond Al Qaeda, one should note the Christian fundamentalist groups in the United States who conduct terrorist attacks against abortion clinics and doctors, for instance.
One might also add that terrorist groups currently thrive in failed states where the government has no capacity to really prevent their activities (think Somalia or Sudan) whereas “old” terrorist groups operated in countries with relatively stable governance. So, political destabilization is a good indicator of the possibility of presence of terrorist groups who use low-capacity states to their advantage. Finally, one would also add in the “new” terrorism column narco-terrorism as a major mode of funding with networking established between terrorist groups and organized crime.
That being said, Neumann refutes the more catastrophic interpretations of new terrorism.
Posted in Globalization, Mass Violence, Networks, Religious Fundamentalism, Terrorism | No Comments »
