World Politics XII: Unconventional Warfare and Political Violence

Flashcards about unconventional warfare, political violence, and terrorism.

Forms of Political Violence

Encompasses actions by states against their people (repression), conflicts among different groups within a state (communal violence), and wars between different states (interstate wars).

Schmittian civil war

A type of civil conflict, as described by Carl Schmitt, that arises between ethnic or religious groups holding fundamentally incompatible views, often fueled by inequalities in economic or political status.

Hobbesian civil war

A form of civil war, inspired by Thomas Hobbes' philosophy, resulting from the breakdown of state authority, leading to widespread conflict driven by opportunity and economic motives.

Coups d’état

Illegal attempts by military or state elites to overthrow a government.

Repression

Involves the actual or threatened use of physical force or sanctions against individuals or groups, intended to deter actions that challenge the government.

Coercive responsiveness

Describes a situation where elites respond, typically through repression, to perceived threats against the existing social or political order.

Terrorism

The deliberate use of violence to instill fear or terror, with the ultimate goal of achieving specific objectives.

Tilly's definition of terrorism

Charles Tilly defines it as the asymmetrical deployment of threats and violence against enemies, employing tactics outside the normal bounds of political struggle within a given regime.

Terrorist goals

Include establishing the dominance of a particular religion, combating a colonizing power for self-determination, seeking independence from a nation-state, and launching attacks against other ethnic groups within a territory.

Methods and Tactics of Terrorism

Include bombings, use of explosives, kidnappings, hostage-taking, aircraft hijackings, threats involving biological or chemical weapons, and assassinations.

Cyber incidents

Involve disruptions to the normal functioning of digital technologies.

Drug trafficking

Activities that often have local or regional origins in less developed countries but extend transnationally to meet demand in the developed world.

Gun trafficking

Involves the flow of weapons from the developed world to armed groups and cartels in the developing world.