NCJ Number
64912
Journal
Schriftenreihe der Polizei-Fuehrungsakademie Volume: 6 Issue: 4 Dated: (1979) Pages: 277-298
Date Published
1979
Length
22 pages
Annotation
THE INFLUENCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS ON TERRORISM IS ANALYZED, AND IT IS ARGUED THAT GUERRILLA WARFARE IS SLOWLY REPLACING CONVENTIONAL WAR.
Abstract
THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM IS DEPENDENT ON THE TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS. WHILE PREVIOUS GENERATIONS OF TERRORISTS HAD ONLY MACHINE GUNS AND DYNAMITE, MODERN MEANS OF COMMUNICATION, ESPECIALLY THE MASS MEDIA, NOW FURNISH THEM WITH AN EFFECTIVE PROPAGANDA TOOL GIVING THEM EXPOSURE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD THAT CONVEYS AN EXAGGERATED IMPRESSION OF THE TRUE EXTENT OF THEIR POWER. IN ADDITION, SOCIETY'S HEAVY DEPENDENCE ON ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY HAS CREATED NEW VULNERABILITIES: JUMBO JETS, TANKERS, PIPELINES, OIL REFINERIES AND NUCLEAR REACTORS OFFER EASY (AND SO FAR PARTLY UNTAPPED) POSSIBILITIES FOR ENFORCING TERRORIST DEMANDS. FROM A TERRORIST POINT OF VIEW, THE MOST IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT IN ARMAMENT TECHNOLOGY LIES IN THE INVENTION OF SMALL, PORTABLE, ECONOMIC, AND PRECISE WEAPONS (E.G., ANTI-AIRCRAFT WEAPONS, REMOTE-CONTROLLED TANK DESTROYERS) WHICH--ORIGINALLY MANUFACTURED FOR MILITARY USE--TERRORISTS ALREADY HAVE. WHILE LOW-LEVEL FORMS OF VIOLENCE CONTINUE TO EXPAND, CONVENTIONAL WARFARE BECOMES INCREASINGLY IMPRACTICABLE DUE TO THE HIGH COST OF WAR EQUIPMENT AND THE ENORMOUS POSSIBILITIES FOR DESTRUCTION. IN THIS SITUATION, LIMITED GUERRILLA ACTIVITIES OFFER ALTERNATIVE, SURROGATE WARFARE THAT SUPPORTS THE POLITICAL INTERESTS OF ETHNOLOGICAL MINORITIES AND NOT SELDOM SUCCEEDS IN CREATING A NEW INDEPENDENT COUNTRY. THE DIRECT RESULTS ARE AN INCREASING NUMBER OF SMALL INDEPENDENT NATIONS--THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE U.N. GREW FROM 51 IN 1945 TO 135 IN 1973--AND A CONSTANTLY CHANGING ARRAY OF TERRORIST GROUPS WHICH ENJOY THE SUPPORT OF SOME OF THESE COUNTRIES. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE TECHNICAL PROGRESS OF THE 20TH CENTURY HAS GIVEN SMALL TERRORIST GROUPS THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER WHICH WAS FORMERLY RESERVED FOR ENTIRE ARMIES. --IN GERMAN.