This document provides an overview of terrorism, including its definition, historical background, causes and conditions that facilitate its start and survival, as well as strategies to curb it. It discusses terrorism in terms of initiating "pull factors" and "push factors" that motivate individuals to engage in terrorism. It also analyzes sustaining conditions like marginalization, identity politics and lack of political empowerment. The document recommends a multidimensional and coordinated long-term approach, including addressing socioeconomic grievances, improving criminal justice systems, and increasing regional/global cooperation to counter terrorism.

1. Shahid Hussain Raja
Author/Consultant/Trainer
Cambridge. UK
www.shahidhussainraja.com

2.  Introduction
 Terrorism Defined
 Terrorism-Historical Background
 Causes of Terrorism-Initiating Conditions
◦ Pull Factors
◦ Push Factors
 Causes of Terrorism-Sustaining Conditions
◦ Marginalisation
◦ Identity Politics
◦ Foreign Policy Decisions
◦ Betrayal Syndrome
◦ Lack of Political Empowerment
 Strategy to Curb Terrorism
 Conclusion

3.  Terrorism-historical as well as universal phenomenon; few countries
can claim not to have been affected by this menace which is rising
 Has been practised by every type of organisation, religious or non-
religious, right-wing or left-wing. Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus
 Consequently, the reasons for the terrorist activity and the identity of
its perpetrators are always subject to the context, time and place.
 This presentation attempts to analyse global terrorism in its historical
perspective, identify causes and presents a plan of action to curb it

4.  Unfortunately, there is no consensus on its accurate definition; one
country’s terrorists are other country’s freedom fighters
 However, for this presentation, we can define, "terrorism" as
“any violent act of intentional targeting of non-combatants by a person
or a group to create panic among the public with the aim of getting
tactical or strategic concessions from the policy makers for the
accomplishment of their political or nonpolitical goals.”

5.  International terrorism as per US Code has following three features
1. Involve violent/dangerous acts to human life that violate federal or state law;
2. Appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to
influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to
affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or
kidnapping; and
3. Occur primarily outside territorial jurisdiction of U.S., or transcend national
boundaries in terms of means, targets, or locale

6.  Following three groups considered terrorists of pre-modern era
1. Zealots: Jewish Zealots, first organized terrorists whose acts of
violence against Romans resulted in their banishment from Israel
2. Assassins: Followers of Hasan bin Sabah(10th century)-violence
perpetrated by them on the order of their spiritual leader.
3. Thugs: Members of secret Indian cult, worshipped Mother Kali,
operated as gangs of highway robbers, strangling their victims

7.  Jacobins: Who coined term “terrorism” during French Revolution, killed
more than 35,000 people to terrify French people into submission
 Anarchists: Pioneers of modern terrorism at global level, started in
1880s in Russia, later spread to Europe/North America.
 Anti-colonial Terrorism: Terror groups that operated in Asia, Africa
during last phase of colonialism and continued up to 1980sa.
 Nationalist Terrorists: Zionist underground terrorist outfit Irgun known
for the bombing of the King David Hotel on Monday July 22, 1946

8.  1970s/80s Terrorists: Irish Republican Army, ETA in Spain and
PLO/Black September in Middle East,Tamil Tiger in Sri Lanka
 Popularized suicide bombing/women suicide bombers, copied by the
Jihadist terror organizations in the Middle East and Europe
 Leftist Romantics: Those who took part in 1968 street demonstrations
in European capitals became disillusioned
 Taking armed struggle as strategy to begin revolution; Italy's Red
Brigades, Germany's Baader-Meinhof group

9.  Pre-9/11 Terrorists: Trained by CIA during Soviet Afghan War, these radicalized
Muslims took arms against oppressive governments of ME
 One such resistance group Al-Qaida led by Osama Bin Laden started global
Jihad against the West after American/NATO invasion during First1990 Gulf
War.
 Post 9/11 Terrorists: Terrorist activities carried out by radicalised Muslims after
the actions taken by the USA when it launched War on Terrorism.
 Asserting that only way to progress for Muslims is to follow the original
religious principles of Islam practiced during golden period of Islamic Caliphate

10.  Terrorism-complex phenomenon, specific kind of political violence
committed by people who do not have legitimate army at their disposal.
 Barring few Lone Wolf cases, most of these conditions have to do with
circumstances such as political, social repression, or economic strife.
 There are two sets of conditions which make violence against civilians
seem like a reasonable and even necessary option;
1. Conditions facilitating Start of Terrorism-Pull Factors vs Push
Factors
2. Conditions facilitating Survival of Terrorism-4 Ss Model

11.  Pull factor-something appealing in ideology, person, or organization
1. Maybe Intellectual underpinnings of organization/idea, promises of
salvation in hereafter, sheer charismatic personality of leader
2. Personal quest, a sense of belonging to a cause, ideology or social
network, friendship and kinship ties/compulsions
3. Sheer excitement of enjoying power,control, adventure, possibility
of heroism/ personal redemption usually attracting the rich.
4. Financial benefits of joining, protection from the state agencies.

12.  Push factors-reasons which force a person to become extremist or
join a terrorist organization and start an armed struggle
 Five main reasons for a group of people to resort to acts of violence
1. Marginalization
2. Identity Politics
3. Foreign Occupation/Interventions
4. Betrayal Syndrome
5. Lack of Political Empowerment

13.  Socioeconomic deprivation and political marginalisation of significant
minority, actual or perceived, create feelings of hatred against state
 Repression, injustice provide justification for terrorists to mobilise
people for protest, join violent outfits if grievances not redressed
 To get support of silent majority of their group, they resort to their
emotional manipulation by using cards of race, religion, caste, colour etc
 Then used by the vested interests, local or foreign, state or non-state,
for furtherance of their foreign policy or domestic agenda.

14.  Popularised by Francis Fukuyama, cultural marginalisation, which
produces alienation, lack of belonging to home or parents’ society.
 2nd generation of Muslim migrants to Europe are facing this identity
crises; not owned by host countries, links to parent’s country weak
 Consequently, this sociocultural isolation reinforces their religious
solidarity with Muslims around the world; sense of global belonging
 Any issue of the greater Muslim Ummah is internalised by these isolated
youths prompting them to turn extremist

15.  Foreign occupation or foreign policy decisions of powerful countries
against weaker countries arouse the feelings of injustice and nationalism
 Domestic grievances are framed around victimhood against Western
foreign policy and military intervention. ‘West is at war with Islam’
 Conflicts in Muslim countries are filtered through this core narrative.
These conflicts and events can become a focal point for mobilisation.
 There is a keen sense of alienation and injustice which is reinforced by
Islamophobia, xenophobia and discriminatory acts of European states

16.  Global/regional powers create/support militant groups in their areas of
respective interests for the furtherance of their foreign policy agenda.
 Once used, these militants are abandoned by their erstwhile sponsors;
they in turn become their nemeses-a “disposal problem”.
 Feeling of betrayal turn these highly motivated and well trained into
hardcore Jihadists ready to take revenge for this betrayal
 Unfit and un-welcome to re-absorb in their societies, these disgruntled
elements join the militant groups to vent their anger and frustration

17.  Majority of terrorists are from dictatrial countries where lack of
democracy makes people vulnerable to radical recruitment:
 Globalization is stoking aspirations of middle classes in every country
for better quality of life, political empowerment, social equality
 However, in many ME countries, adequate channels of expression do
not exist for these groups to express their grievances
 Consequently, these countries are increasingly witnessing outbursts
of popular resentment, exploited by the vested elements/extremists

18.  Push and Pull factors explain how people voluntarily join or motivated
to join extremist outfits
 Irrespective of the reason for coming into existence of an extremist
organisation, it ultimately needs four things to survive and succeed
1. Slogan/Cause
2. Support of People
3. Space for Operations
4. Sponsors-Finance and Armaments

19.  Terrorism must have a cause, how unachievable or absurd it may seem to
be.
 It could be an armed struggle against occupation forces (i.e. Taliban fighting
against NATO forces in Afghanistan)
 Or foreign policy decisions of outside states adversely affecting those
resorting to terrorism (i.e. 9/11 or terrorist acts in Europe).
 Or vocal group of minority facing state oppression/social marginalisation,
may take up arms (i.e. Moros in Philippines/ Rohingyas in Myanmar).

20.  Terrorists need the shelter, support and sympathy of the people
they think they are fighting for.
 If they think that they are not being supported by public, they start
terrorist activities against them to force them to support them.
 See the acts of terrorism by the Muslim militias against their own
people in this context.
 "Terrorism is not necessarily about the number of people you kill;
it's about the terror you create."-Peter Neumann

21.  Terrorist organisation must have an area of operation for their
terrorist activities, preferably urban area to create maximum impact.
 Their main aim is to create panic among public, awe state by
performing high visibility, maximum casualty acts of terrorism
 Biggest challenge for agencies is to squeeze that space for the
terrorists to carry ouy out their acts of terrorism

22.  Whether they spring up spontaneously or created by some agency, every
terrorist organisation ultimately needs a foreign sponsor.
 It could be a global power, a regional aspirant for hegemony or any
disgruntled neighbour interested to achieve its national interests.
 It provides them finances, arms, training and advice. Tamil Tigers, Mukti
Bahini, Moros, Uyghurs, Hezbollah, IRA, Taliban, ISIS
 Need global/regional and bilateral cooperation and negotiation to choke
these sources; Otherwise, tit for tat strategy is needed

23.  Stopping violence is rarely simple or easy. Only time and commitment
by a majority of the parties involved can resolve​ a conflict.
 Multidimensional nature of terrorism demands adopting a long term
holistic and comprehensive approach for its eradication.
 While Pull and Push causes of terrorism need long term policies, the
sources of survival of terrorism can be choked even in the short term.
 Some of the measures are as follows;

24. 1. Formulation of long-term Vision/Legal Framework
2. Use of Force-legitimate but adequate
3. Countering 4Ss-Slogan,Support,Space,Sponsors
4. Plugging in the sources- Discrimination, Poverty, Inequality etc
5. Improving Criminal Justice System
6. Regional and Global Cooperation and Coordination
7. Mainstreaming Ex-Terrorists/Returning Foreign Fighters

25.  Comprehensive framework for tackling terrorism, implemented in
letter and spirit, intelligence gathering and better coordination
 Carrot and stick strategy to announce amnesty for those who
voluntarily renounce terrorism and severe punishment for others
 Divide and eliminate strategy by infiltrating professional spies inside
their ranks and create dissention among their ranks.
 Hearts and mind strategy to win over those segments of population
who hold sympathies for these groups and provide them support

26.  Four point strategy to counter terrorism through use of force
◦ 1.Do not kill political head of terrorist organisation to avoid formation of splinter
groups. Secondly, we need him when finally negotiations are to be held
◦ 2.Do no spare the second tier of terrorist outfit. Being the planners, these are the
most dangerous persons in the organisation
◦ 3. Co-opt the third tier (field operators) of these terrorist organisation through
every means possible-these are very helpful in locating the second tier leadership
◦ 4.Win over the people living in the terror prone area by carrying out the
development activities to ensure life is going on normal

27.  Slogan: Counter terrorist narrative with better narrative using facts, logic
and emotions, and utilising opinion makers-religious scholars for this
 Support: Find and choke the channels of material and financial support
to the terrorist outfits
 Space: Keep on limiting the space terrorists use to carry out terrorist
activity by utilising all the technological and human intelligence
 Sponsors: Similarly, take all measures, physical and diplomatic to
restrain the access of terrorists to foreign sources of funds and arms

28.  Improve judicial system so that even the hardened criminals and
terrorists are convicted and sentenced with due process of law.
 Selection/appointment strictly on merit, their constant capacity building
in modern techniques of investigation and prosecution.
 Similarly, judges need to be appointed on merit and provided maximum
security so that they can dispense justice without any fear or favour.
 Constructing high security prisons to confine the hardcore terrorists to
ensure they do not have contacts with the outfield commanders

29.  Poverty Reduction: Accelerate the growth but also selective attack
on worst form of poverty through appropriate social safety nets.
 Discrimination: Important driver of terrorism to be tackled through
legislative measures, financial support and development effort
 Hate Literature: Control the spread of hate material against a
group on the basis of caste, creed or colour or ethnicity.
 Cyber Control: In these days of technological connectivity, rumours
spread like wildfire. Effective measures needed to nip them in bud

30.  Systematic re- absorption for foreign fighters who renounce terrorism
and surrender, tackled by special agency to check double dealing
 Not all returnees dangerous. Treating all former fighters as high risk
may radicalise them further through unwarranted persecution.
 Government should thoroughly screen these returnees to identify the
more dangerous among them to be punished under the law
 However, select credible and trustworthy individuals who could become
effective change agents to counter recruitment narratives of militants

31.  Renunciation by all states not to use terrorist outfits as their proxies
for the achievement of their narrow national interests
 Formulation of comprehensive strategy by involving all regional &
global stakeholders-Intelligence sharing/Money Laundering/arrests
 Marshall Plan style integrated development of main regions of
terrorism (Middle East, Africa, Afghanistan/Pakistan etc)
 Peaceful resolution of long simmering disputes-Palestine, Kashmir etc
 Good Governance/Human Development in ME as priority by UN/West

32.  Despite ambiguity of definition, terrorism is a global and historical
phenomenon with multiple sets of causes
 As such tackling it requires multidimensional and internally as well as
externally coordinated approach
 However, all our counter-terrorism measures must be in conformity
with accepted norms of ethics and fundamental human rights

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