Transnational Terrorism

Flashcards on the topic of transnational terrorism including definitions, trends, and related concepts.

Defining Terrorism

A weapon of the weak, employed as a political instrument by individuals or groups seeking to reject authority, generate social change, promote revolution, or spread fear.

State Terrorism / Political Terror

Employed by government against their own people to suppress dissent and maintain power (e.g., torture, imprisonment, extrajudicial killings).

Perpetrators of Terrorism

States or non-state actors, individuals or groups

Victims of Terrorism

State/military; other non-state actors (e.g., rebels), (innocent) civilian victims

Tactics of Terrorism

Create chaos and spread fear: indiscriminate violence, attacking public spaces, kidnappings, propaganda and recruitment.

Goals of Terrorism

Religious and/or political change.

Countries Most Affected by Terrorism (GTI 2024)

1. Burkina Faso 2. Israel 3. Mali 4. Pakistan 5. Syria 6. Afghanistan 7. Somalia 8. Nigeria 9. Myanmar 10. Niger

Deadliest Terrorist Groups (GTI 2024)

1. Islamic State 2. Hamas 3. JNIM 4. Al-Shabaab

Conflict and Terrorism

Conflict and terrorism are related in 90% of affected countries.

Tactics and Strategies of Terrorism

Majority use explosives; suicide bombings and kidnappings specific to some groups; concerns about WMDs and nuclear terrorism.

Lone Actor Attacks

Terrorist acts committed by individuals who act alone and without the support of a terrorist organization; most common in the West; political extremists, nationalists, racial and religious supremacists.

Terrorist Networks and Allegiances

Facilitates sharing of information, financing, recruits, etc.; linked to globalization; foreign fighters.

Networks and Terrorist Group Survival

Linkages between Islamist groups grew with US presence in Iraq and Afghanistan; networks facilitate exchange of recruits, financing, weapons.

Far-Right Extremism Defined

Strident nationalism that is usually racial or exclusivist, fascism, racism, anti-Semitism, anti-immigration, chauvinism, nativism, and xenophobia. Tend to be authoritarian with populist elements, historically anti-communist.

Far-Right Terrorism Statistics (2019)

63 per cent of attacks and 90 per cent of deaths from terrorism in the West attributed to far-right and far-left motivated groups and individuals in 2019.

Characteristics of Far-Right Terrorism

Majority of far-right terrorist attacks are carried out by lone actors; shift from affiliated to unaffiliated terrorism and online radicalization.

Political Instability and Terrorism

Increased in tandem with rising political unrest, polarization, and the increase in popularity of new political movements and populist political parties.