Order Number |
45thbn7y8i |
Type of Project |
ESSAY |
Writer Level |
PHD VERIFIED |
Format |
APA |
Academic Sources |
10 |
Page Count |
3-12 PAGES |
The FBI is one of the largest organizations that focus on terrorism. Protecting the United States from terrorist attacks is the FBI’s number one priority. Terrorism to me is installing fear physically and socially. The FBI’s defines terrorism in two categories international and domestic terrorism.
International terrorism is, defined as “Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups who are inspired by, or associated with, designated foreign terrorist organizations or nations state-sponsored. (https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism)”
Domestic terrorism is defined as, “Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature(https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism) (Links to an external site.) .”
Terrorism is displayed in many different forms. Due to terrorism evolving over the last 30 years. The media, social networks and gaming have played a large role in how we view terrorism. Some common characteristics of terrorism is the use or threat of violence, political beliefs and targeting certain locations.
Terrorists have the ability to stream the act of violence through social medial detailing the violence. An example of this was the shooting that occurred in New Zealand earlier this year. The gunman used a Go-pro and streamed the terrorist attack on Facebook. During the video, you can hear the gunman talking to himself while playing extremely loud music.
The gunman than parked his vehicle by Hagley Park mosque and walked in with an assault rifle. The gunman than killed 49 people. The video footage was quickly taken down by Facebook. Another example is video games. From an early age, young children are learning how to tactically approach situations. These are just a few examples of how terrorism has evolved.
Wirte a response to scott post: 100 word minium
There is no question that terrorism is among the gravest of threats to our world. With that being said, it is important for the FBI to try and mitigate that to the best of our ability. Unfortunately, there is no ‘one shoe fits all’ method when trying to understand terrorists, so it is impossible to group them into one box.
There also is no set “terrorist personality”, nor is there any accurate profile- psychologically or otherwise- of a terrorist. Mental illness, although a very common thought by many, is not a critical factor in explaining terrorist behavior as most terrorists are not “psychopaths”.
In fact, Crenshaw (1988) argues that “the outstanding common characteristic of terrorists is their normality” (p. 390), and Silke (1998) has argued that “most serious researchers in the field at least nominally agree with the position that terrorists are essentially normal individuals” (p.53).
Although studies have shown that childhood abuse, trauma and humiliation are prominent in a terrorist’s upbringing, it does not really aid in explaining terrorism. Perceived injustice, need for identity and a need for belonging are common vulnerabilities among potential terrorists.
Poverty, fear and desperation are the most leading factors for terrorist groups to recruit new members. A majority of terrorists are from failed countries, making the people that live among them most susceptible for joining the terrorist groups.
Research on the psychology of terrorism largely lacks substance and thoroughness. Cultural factors are important, but have not been studied. Future research should be operationally- informed, maintain a behavior based focus, and derive interpretations from analysis of incident- related behaviors.
“Many terrorisms exist, and their character has changed over time and from country to country. The endeavor to find a “general theory” of terrorism, one overall explanation of its roots, is a futile and misguided enterprise.
Terrorism has changed over time and so have the terrorists, their motives, and the causes of terrorism.” (Laqueur, 2003). Silke (2001) stated that: “Our knowledge of terrorism most certainly is deficient but the field shows no clear ability to improve this situation. After 30 years of study, we simply should know more about terrorism than we currently do. That we continue to languish at this level of ignorance on such a serious subject is a cause of grave concern.”