Does Globalisation contribute to the growth of terrorism?

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Does Globalisation contribute to the growth of terrorism?

Globalisation has contributed to the growth of internationalised linkages through the ideals of free market liberalisation. It has facilitated the growth of multi-national companies whose business networks are connected through the internet and global communications networks.

This interconnectedness has a dark side according to Louise Shelly, “Terrorists have also globalised, taking advantage of the ability to recruit internationally, to be close to diaspora communities that can support them financially and logically.”

Jessica Stern feels that the current crop of global Jihadists are,” both an expression and a symptom of globalisation, spread through the internet and other global media such as satellite television”. The concept of globalisation leads to a backlash against it and against the US lead Westernisation of the world.

In a globalised world the causes of terrorism are,” derived from a series of political, economic and technological problems that are interconnected”  and in turn the tools of globalisation; the internet, the media and the increased flow of materiel and people, are exploited.

As Cronin states, “Terrorism has a long and varied history”. It has been utilised by different groups for a myriad of reasons and in itself is almost impossible to define. At its most basic level terrorism can be viewed as having a political nature, using acts of violence against innocent targets to precipitate political change. It is primarily used by non state actors, even when these groups have received funding or assistance from state actors.

Since the end of the cold war, the world has seen a large increase in the amount of what Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon describe as ‘Sacred Terror”- mainly Islamic-based terror groups who see the overthrow of the west and the containing disconnection from the globalised world as their raison d'etre. 

In 2005 a working group for the Club de Madrid‘s International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security published a paper: Addressing the Causes of Terror; which outlined six contributions that globalisation has made to the growth of terrorism. These were:

  1. Globalization as a cause and motivation for terror.
  2. Cultural resistance to globalisation.
  3. Globalisation fosters the development of new minorities.
  4. Globalisation increases the opportunities for militant and terrorist groups.
  5. Linkages develop between political and criminal networks.
  6. Globalisation weakens the state.

Using these six factors as well as information and evidence from other sources, this paper intends to outline how globalisation has contributed to the growth of terrorist activities.

Globalization as a cause and motivation for terror 

The countries that have not integrated successfully into the new liberal global economy find a growth in inequalities and social polarization. Globalisation has divided the world into haves and have-nots, those that are rich in information and those that are disconnected from the information the West takes for granted. This may lead to a growth in terrorist activities by groups seeking a more equal disruption of globalisations benefits.  This could be considered ironic, as US intelligence estimates put Bin Laden’s personal fortune, gained through the use of globally based companies in excess of $500 million. 

The sweeping changes that globalisation has brought to the world have led to inequalities and poverty in certain locations. Ted Robert Gurr writes in his work on the economic factors of terrorism that, “ Macro-studies show that terrorism can occur anywhere, but it is more common in developing countries… economic change creates conditions that are conducive to instability, the emergence of militant movements and extremist ideologies”. In many states where globalisation has lead to a changes in the economic structure, the structure of culture and society as well as changes in political doctrine, there is the possibility of a growth of terrorist groups. However to prove this is a hard task. Beyond interviewing each and every terrorist group active in the world today, it is almost impossible to prove empirically that globalisation is a direct cause of grievances amongst terrorist groups. Some commentators feel that the humiliating effects of the negative aspects of globalisation incur the wrath of certain militant ideologies; that the grievances of some groups are fuelled by social and economic tensions. Certainly Al Qaeda subscribes to this view as the argument of Ayman Al Zawarhiri demonstrates: “that it is better for the youth of the Muslim world to take up arms than to submit to the humiliation of globalisation and Western hegemony”.

Others feel the opposite, that while globalisation increases the terrorist’s ability to harm us, globalisation is not a direct influence on them. One can only conclude this by noting that terrorism is a large subject and its adherents encompass such a wide scope of ideologies, that it could be said that the very nature of globalisation, even if it only affected one group, does contribute to the growth of terrorism in general.

Cultural resistance to globalisation

The global spread of liberal western market-driven culture can be interpreted by some militants as the infiltration of an alien and corrupting culture. This is then used by some nationalist or religious groups as a justification for terror activities. The West’s cultural inclination toward consumerism and acquisition of materials has become a source of anger for those in spheres without access to certain material products.

Globalisation has lead to the broadening of travel by certain ethnic groups, as people from disconnected states; such as Africa, attempt to move to the west in order to gain more prosperity. This has contributed to the growth of certain terror groups, often right-wing in nature, that enact vigilante acts against what they see as the encroachment of the culture of illegal immigrants on national identity.

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Globalisation as a philosophy, as the expression of western expansion and as a symbol of the corrupting influence of democracies, can be seen by certain groups; principally Al Qaeda and its affricatives, whose principal aim is the complete destruction of these corrupting values, as a justification for violence.  

Globalisation fosters the development of new minorities

Globalisation facilitates the movement of populations around the globe. This has lead to the development of new minorities within established and settled populations, many of whom have views that are, at minimum, sympathetic to groups with extremist ideologies.

The wide dispersal of populations, ...

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