Untitled Flashcards Set

Terrorism – "premeditated threat or use of violence against noncombatant targets by individuals or subnational groups to obtain a political or social objective through intimidation of a larger audience."

• Context: This is a type of way for a nonstate actor to use violence to achieve a political goal. Can be compared to a civil war which is distinguished by its participants not by nature of its targets

• Example: 9/11 Attacks

Rationality – purposive behavior or strategies by which individuals or groups pursue their interests

• Context: Fits into a broader debate of whether terrorists are rational actors. Terrorists might be seen as irrational because the costs outweigh the benefits, it is irrational to be a suicide bomber, and that some terrorist attacks seem to be random

• Example: Al Qaeda bombed Spanish trains in the 1990s with the rational desire of Spanish removal of troops from their land.

Extremists – actors whose interests are not widely shared by others; individuals or groups that are politically weak relative to the demands they make

• Context: Fits into the broader context of why someone might become a terrorist. An extremist can be contrasted with a moderate, who lies in the middle of the bell curve of public opinion

• Example: ISIS/Hamas

Terrorism From Incomplete Information – Incomplete information is a bargaining barrier between targets and terrorist groups as it is often difficult for targets to gain information. Terrorist organizations have an incentive to misrepresent their capabilities

• Context: Fits into the context of terrorism as a bargaining failure. Can be compared to terrorism from commitment problems and terrorism from indivisibility

• Example: Terrorist organizations such as ISIS usually use cell networks to ensure they are hidden and give as little away as possible.

Terrorism from Commitment problems – Terrorism as a commitment problem refers to the difficulty in ensuring that both terrorists and their targets can credibly commit to peace agreements, as terrorist groups struggle to control internal factions and disarm, while targets fear that concessions will lead to further demands and encourage new adversaries.

• Context: Fits into the context of terrorism as a bargaining failure. Can be compared to terrorism from incomplete information and terrorism from indivisibility.

• Example: Israel-Hamas are unable to come to an agreement due to the fact that Israel is unaware of whether Hamas will truly come to a peaceful conclusion.

Terrorism from Indivisibility problems – Terrorism as an indivisibility problem occurs when the goals of the terrorist group and the target are seen as non negotiable or all-or-nothing, making compromise impossible

• Context: Fits into the context of terrorism as a bargaining failure. Can be compared to terrorism from incomplete information and terrorism from commitment problems

• Example: Religious Territories such as Jerusalem have caused issues between countries in the Middle East due to its historical significance.

Coercion – a strategy of imposing or threatening to impose costs on other actors in order to induce a change in their behavior. Operates through costly signaling and the threat of future costs

• Context: Strategy of violence for terrorists. Can be compared with provocation, spoiling, outbidding

• Example: Al Qaeda bombing Spanish buses in the early 2000s to get them to remove troops from Iraq

Provocation – a strategy of terrorist attacks intended to provoke the target government into making a disproportionate response that alienates moderates in the terroristsʼ home society or in other sympathetic audiences

• Context: Strategy of violence for terrorists. Can be compared with coercion, spoiling, outbidding

• Example: US invasion of Iraq caused sympathetic support for Al Qaeda as it was deemed that the US may have hate towards Muslims.

Spoiling – a strategy of terrorist attacks intended to sabotage a prospective peace between the target and moderate leadership from the terroristsʼ home society

• Context: Strategy of violence for terrorists. Can be compared with provocation, coercion, outbidding

• Example: Hamas spoiling prospective Peace between Israel-Palestine

Outbidding – A strategy of terrorist attacks designed to demonstrate superior capability and commitment relative to other groups devoted to the same cause

• Context: Strategy of violence for terrorists. Can be compared with provocation, spoiling, coercion

• Example: ISIS demonstrating superiority to

Deterrence – a strategy to preserve the status quo by threatening challengers with unacceptable costs.

• Context: Way in which a country might prevent terrorism. Can be compared with preemption, defensive measures, criminalization

Preemption – Strategy for states to take the initiative and attempt to disrupt or destroy terrorists and their networks before they attack.

• Context: Way in which a country might prevent terrorism. Can be compared with deterrence, defensive measures, criminalization

Defensive measures – Actions taken by states to prevent terrorist attacks by increasing the costs and difficulty for attackers, such as enhanced security screenings, physical barriers, and fortified structures.

• Context: Way in which a country might prevent terrorism. Can be compared with preemption, deterrence, criminalization

Criminalization – States can criminalize terrorism and pursue specific individuals and groups for the attacks they have planned or carried out.

• Context: Way in which a country might prevent terrorism. Can be compared with preemption, defensive measures, deterrence

Victory – terrorist group ceases to exist because they achieved their goals

• Context: A way in which terrorist groups end. This is the least common pathway. Can be compared with transformation, repression by state, decapitation, negotiations, or loss of popular support

• Example: uMkhonto we Sizwe, military wing of the African National Congress in South Africa

Transformation – group becomes something else – an insurgency, or a criminal organization

• Context: A way in which terrorist groups end. Can be compared with victory, repression by state, decapitation, negotiations, or loss of popular support

Repression by the State – State military effort to eliminate the organization

• Context: A way in which a terrorist group ends. Poor track record, often ends in bloodshed and destruction. Can be compared with victory, transformation, decapitation, negotiations, or loss of popular support

• Example: Russiaʼs campaign against separatists from Chechnya, starting in 1999

Leadership Removal (Decapitation) – Attacking a group by removing its leader, often done through assassination

• Context: A way in which a terrorist group ends. Can be compared with victory, transformation, repression by the state, negotiations, or loss of popular support

• Example: Sendero Luminoso in Peru (“Shining Pathˮ) - arrest of Abimael Guzmán in 1992

Negotiations – Terrorist groups negotiate a compromise with the state

• Context: A way in which a terrorist group ends. Very rare as countries often don’t negotiate with terrorists. Can be compared with victory, transformation, repression by the state, decapitation, or loss of popular support

• Example: Irish Republican Army/ Sinn Fein and the Good Friday Accords, 1998

Loss of Popular Support – Terrorist violence turns the public away

• Context: A way in which a terrorist group ends. Very rare as countries often don’t negotiate with terrorists. Can be compared with victory, transformation, repression by the state, decapitation, or negotiations

• Example: Real IRAʼs 1998 bomb in Omagh