TERRORISM AND THE PEOPLE (FROM TEN YEARS OF TERRORISM COLLECTED VIEWS, 1979, BY JENNIFER SHAW ET AL - SEE NCJ-62267)

• NCJ Number: 62274
• Author(s): M BELOFF
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 19 pages
• Corporate Author: Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

A BRITISH PROFESSOR ADDRESSES THE TOPIC OF REACTIONS OF GOVERNMENTS TO TERRORISM AND THE REACTION OF TERRORISTS TO THE ACTIVITIES OF GOVERNMENTS.

Abstract

THE CAPACITY AND WILLINGNESS ON THE PART OF UNRECOGNIZED GROUPS TO USE VIOLENCE TO ACHIEVE THEIR OBJECTIVES APPEARS TO BE DEEPLY ROOTED. REASONS FOR THE PREVALENCE OF EXTREME VIOLENCE AND TERROR IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY ARE EXAMINED. THE EXISTENCE OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, THE PROMOTION OF INTERNAL VIOLENCE FROM OUTSIDE AS PART OF STATE POLICY, THE BELIEF THAT CERTAIN CONDITIONS, SUCH AS POVERTY, OPPRESSION, AND INJUSTICE CAN BE MADE RIGHT BY TRIUMPHING OVER SOMEONE ELSE'S ILL WILL, AND THE DESIRE TO DISCREDIT A GOVERNMENT ARE ALL REASONS FOR TERRORISM IN THE MODERN WORLD. HOWEVER, ANOTHER FACTOR TO CONSIDER, AS IN THE CASE OF THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY (IRA) IN NORTHERN IRELAND, IS THAT THE OBJECTIVES OF THE TERRORIST GROUP, SO FAR AS THEY ARE EXPLICIT, ARE WHOLLY UNATTAINABLE. A POLITICAL SOLUTION WILL NOT SATISFY THE IRA UNLESS IT ENTAILS CHANGING THE GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION OF IRELAND. SUCH MOVEMENTS THRIVE ON DELIBERATELY INDUCED MISUNDERSTANDINGS. THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT ITSELF HAS CONDONED TERRORISM IN THE RHODESIAN SITUATION. HISTORICALLY, IT WAS POSSIBLE TO BUILD UP ORDERED SOCIETIES NOT MERELY BECAUSE KINGS HAD MEN-AT-ARMS WITH BETTER ARMOR AND HEAVIER MACES, BUT BECAUSE THERE WAS A PRESUMPTION THAT SOCIETY WAS AGAINST THE CRIMINAL. IN THE MODERN WORLD SOLIDARITY IS OFTEN SEEN NOT WITH THE WHOLE OF SOCIETY BUT WITH A PARTICULAR GROUP. THIS ATTITUDE CONSPIRES TO PROTECT THE PRACTITIONERS OF TERROR, EVEN WHEN THEY DO NOT COMMAND ACTIVE SUPPORT OF THE MAJORITY. A DEGREE OF SYMPATHY FOR THE TERRORIST, BUT NOT FOR THE VICTIM, IS VERY MARKED IN THE SO-CALLED YOUTH CULTURE OF THE UNITED STATES AND IN WEST GERMANY. ONE OF THE PROBLEMS FOR THE WEST IS THAT, WHILE THE COMMUNIST REGIMES THEMSELVES MAY NOT BE THE PRIMARY PROMOTERS OF TERROR, THEY ARE ALMOST CERTAINLY THE MOST PROBABLE BENEFICIARIES OF ITS SUCCESS. A DISCUSSION FOLLOWING THE SEMINAR IS SUMMARIZED. (PRG)