NCJ Number
57916
Date Published
1979
Length
23 pages
Annotation
THE TRANSNATIONAL FLOW OF INFORMATION, A PROCESS THAT FACILITATES THE PENETRATION OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD INTO MANY DOMESTIC SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL PROBLEMS, IS EXPLORED AS A CAUSE OF TERRORISM.
Abstract
THIS ARTICLE ANALYZES THE INTERACTION THAT CAN OCCUR BETWEEN VIOLENCE AND THE TRANSNATIONAL FLOW OF INFORMATION IN DESTABILIZED SITUATIONS. IT IS HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE TRANSNATIONAL FLOW OF INFORMATION CAN AFFECT SIGNIFICANTLY A CRISIS OR EVENT IN AN OPEN, ETHNICALLY DIVIDED SOCIETY, AND MORE SPECIFICALLY, THAT EXTERNAL INFORMATION MAY BE A CATALYST TO THE OUTBREAK AND DEVELOPMENT OF TERRORISM IN TENSE SITUATIONS. THE CATALYTIC ROLE OF TRANSNATIONAL FACTORS STEMS FROM THE INTERDEPENDENT NATURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM, THE EASY PENETRATION OF MOST STATES, AND THE GLOBAL RANGE OF MODERN COMMUNICATIONS. TWO FACTORS SEEM TO DETERMINE A SOCIETY'S SENSITIVITY TO EXTERNAL INFORMATION: ITS STRUCTURE AND STABILITY AND (2) ITS IDENTIFICATION WITH THE OUTSIDE FORCE. IDENTIFICATION REFERS TO THE PERCEPTION BY ONE SOCIETY OF BEING SIMILAR IN SOME WAY (CULTURALLY, ECONOMICALLY, OR POLITICALLY) TO ANOTHER SOCIETY. INFORMATIONAL FLOWS SEEM TO BENEFIT MILITANTS, DISCONTENTED GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALS IN FOUR MAIN WAYS: (1) MASS MEDIA COVERAGE OF AN EVENT IS USED AS A PROPAGANDA TOOL, (2) THE FLOW OF INFORMATION MAY EXPOSE SOCIETIES TO INFORMATION THAT WILL INSPIRE AND JUSTIFY AN INDIVIDUAL'S OR A GROUP'S USE OF VIOLENCE, (3) THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM CAN SUPPLY DISCONTENTED GROUPS WITH SUFFICIENT TECHNOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE TO SUPPORT THEIR TERRORIST ACTIVITIES, AND (4) THE FLOW OF INFORMATION RESULTING FROM A SUCCESSFUL TERRORIST ATTACK MAY INSPIRE SIMILAR EVENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD. REFERENCE NOTES ARE PROVIDED. (GRP)