Lecture 9: Counterterrorism
What is Terrorism?
- Terrorism is Contentious
- PLO in Oslo accords became accepted into the political realm.
- Israel sanctioning civil society groups as terrorists. They use it as a political tool to
delegitimize their groups (ex: Al-Haq Organization, Defense for Children Palestine)
- October 7: Debate about terrorism vs resistance
- Israel considers Hamas a terrorist organization that is still useful in a political sense
(Israel supported Hamas so that there wouldn’t be a partner for peace and continued
occupation, according to many, including Josep Borell).
- Lula: Israel is acting as a terrorist in Gaza.
- Usually popularly or legally defined
- Analytical definition: “We define ‘terrorism’ as the use of violence against civilians by nonstate
actors to attain political goals.”
- Terrorism is a term without any legal significance. It is merely a convenient way of alluding to
activities, whether of states or of individuals, widely disapproved of and in which either the
methods used are unlawful…
Some Definitions of Terrorism
- Criminal acts are directed against a State and intended or calculated to create a state of terror in
the minds of particular persons, a group of persons, or the general public.
- U.S law, “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets
by subnational groups or clandestine agents (so also states).
- All center on the use of violence against civilians with the intention of creating public fear.
Critique of Terrorism by Charles Tilly
- Once you use the label ‘terrorism’, it lumps together things that we might want to think of
individually.
- Political and normative connotations;
- No difference is made between terror, terrorists, and terrorism.
- Many different groups (organized/unorganized; durable campaigns/ ad-hoc)
- Only a very small number of groups solely focused on terrorist activities.
- Not useful to cover distinct phenomena under the category of “terrorism.”
- Does not have “causal coherence”: Different explanations for different types.
- Many different contexts (domestic/transnational)
Two Alternative Views
- Terrorism as a tactic of political violence (behavior-specific).
- Terrorist groups don’t exist, Terrorism is a tactic used by groups, states,
- The tactic in asymmetric warfare; is carefully planned.
- Indiscriminate (vs. selective) violence, usually directed at noncombatants.
- Punishment of past behavior and deterrence of future behavior.
- Victims (collateral) and targets of violence (audience) are distinct so the
collateral is sacrificed to send signals to diferrent audiences.
- Terrorism is a tactic of armed groups that operate underground (actor-specific)
- Groups that lack territorial control.
How do we deal with contested definitions?
- Most definitions agree that the instrumental political killing of civilians in peacetime is terrorism.
- Beyond that, “terrorism” remains a contested terrain of diverse political and moral opinions.
- So, how to move forward?
- Terrorism as modus operandi (a particular way or method of doing something)
- Terrorism not inherently attached to a groip
- Terrorism may be carried out by a wide range of agents
- think about terrorist tactics, not terrorist groups
Working Analytic Definition
Communicative violence directed against non-combatants is undertaken by a politically oriented group.
- It does not include a goal
- Includes an audience and a target
- A wide range of agents may carry out terrorism.
Types of Terrorism
- State Terrorism (Opression, Violence).
- Domestic Terrorism
- Leftist: 1970s Italy, Germany
- Ethno-national: IRA in Northern Ireland, ETA in the Basque region in Spain
- Transnational terrorism after 1998 (religiopolitical):
- Bombings at US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; 9/11 in NYC and Washington D.C.
(Al-Qaeda)
- ISIS-inspired/coordinated attacks in Europe
Example: ISIS
- Islamist Ideology
- Terrorist activity internationally and in main countries of operation
- However,
- Also held territorial control
- Engaged in other forms of political violence (guerilla warfare; direct battles with armed
groups/armies; disciplining people living under their control).
- How should we analyze IS?
- Just another revolutionary movement? Could this be more productive to our
understanding? They do not just attack; they’re trying to create a new political order
Does Terrorism “Work”?
- Abrahms (2012): Ineffective in achieving “outcome goals” (compared to e.g. guerrila attacks on
military targets).
Does not work as a communication strategy with respect to terrorists’ goals
- Public focuses on civilian suffering
- Terrorists come across as unable to agree on political compromise
But may achieve other (process) goals
- Demonstrate illegitimacy of the state (repressive response)
- Achieve unity and commitment within the organization
- Violence leads to social polarization and greater support for the organization.
The Causes of Terrorism
1. Situational Factors
a. Facilitating Conditions
b. Specific Targets
2. Strategic Aims
a. Long-term (Ethnic cleansing)
b. Short-term: Turn weakness into strength
3. Individual Motivations
a. High-Risk acceptance
b. In-group dynamics
c. Vengeance
Individual Mobilization and Recruitment
- Process of mobilization: “Gradual growth of commitment and opposition.”
- Ideological Indoctrination (common cause)
- In-group dynamics (isolation)
- Importance of political repression for mobilization (revenge).
- Process of escalation in which context matters (not just individual predispositions)
What is Counterterrorism
- Static Defense
- Protect sites, systems, borders.
- Active (Offensive) Defense
- Limit groups’ ability to perpetrate attacks
- Intelligence (detect plans, disrupt organziations)
- Finances (stop state sponsors)
- Leaders (targeted killings/ decapitations).
- Diverse organizations involved: military, police, and civilians.
Some origins of Counterterrorism Technology: The Revolution in Military Affairs?
- Make use of information technologies for military effectiveness
- Control through information
- Publics in the US/Europe are more risk averse (compared to?)
- Constrain political leaders
- Fewer recruits for militaries
- Use technology to transfer risk: minimize fatalities by transferring the risk to enemy combatant
- Predator drones
- Precision-guided munitions
- Stealth bombers
What are drones?
- Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are remotely piloted or self-piloted aircraft that can carry
cameras, sensors, communications equipment or other payloads”
- Used for intelligence gathering since 1950s
- The US first used a weaponized drone in Afghanistan in 2001
Advantages of Drones
- Better and more timely intelligence (longer tracking of targets)
- Precise targeting
- Avoid capture or loss of manned vehicles and pilots
- Drones “allow you to project power without projecting vulnerability.”
Legal Framework of Drones
- Clear in battle zones like Afghanistan
- But it is not clear and problematic where there is no declared state of war: Yemen, Pakistan,
Somalia.
Why Leadership Decapitation?
- Target those responsible for leadership, guidance and experience
- Create confusion among followers and deter potential successors
- Divert the organization from pursuing its goals
- Limit militant attacks (e.g. partially successful against al-Qaeda in Pakistan)
- Trigger the demise of the organization
- Less risky than sending in ground troops (in unstable countries)
- No need to detain suspects
- Limited consequences for civilians (e.g. in comparison to bombings)
Why are Drone Strikes Contested?
- Moral Considerations
- Civilian Deaths
- ‘Playstation Mentality’
- Drones follow a trend of increasingly remote weapons that distance both their operators from the
physical act of killing and the public from their human costs.
Effectiveness
- By 2010, only 2% of combatants killed were leaders of militant groups.
- Prevents collection of intelligence from captives
Strategic Considerations
- By killing civilians (even if by mistake), you create more people who become your enemy, and
they will join groups (Recruitment of new militants)
- You kill one son, and you create nine more enemies
- Long-term concerns
- Strikes carried out with such menial risk to the attacker arguably create the opportunity of
waging perpetual war.
Security vs Liberty in Counterterrorism, the Tradeoffs:
- Border security… limitation on migration
- Intelligence… Surveillance
- Targeted Killings… violence against civilians