Geopolitics of Terrorism

INR 456Political Geography

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Definition of terrorism

• Terrorism can be defined as the use of organized intimidation or indiscriminative violence for the purpose of coercing a government and or community.

• Non-state terrorist groups:– the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Baader-Meinhof, Red

Brigade, Tamil Tigers, Euzkadi to Askatasuna (ETA), Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Hamas, Hizbullah and PKK.

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Types of Terrorism

• Non-state terrorism– Challenge the political legitimacy of nation-states through

indiscriminative violence• State terror– Supporting acts of terrorism against civilian populations

throughout the Third World. (American support to military regimes in Latin America to contain communist groups)

– CIA covert operations to assassinate political leaders (Attempt to assassinate Castro in Cuba)

– Soviet invasion of Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968), assassination of leaders of domestic dissent.

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Source: http://www.aon.com/terrorismmap/

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Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/12/06/heat-map-terrorism-around-the-world-the-u-s-is-among-the-least-affected/

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Purposes of Terrorist Organizations

• Political Objectives– Independence– Territorial Claims (Secessionism)– Ideological clashes• Red Brigades in Italy• Baader-Meinhof in Germany• Al-Qaeda seeks to eradicate Western cultural,

economic, military and political influence from the Middle Eastern and Islamic world.

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Why do terror networks challenge traditional geopolitics?

• Traditional geopolitics was dominated by states and their geopolitical interests.

• Traditional geopolitics focuses on relations between states with a fixed geography. – States whose location on the world map is

determining its foreign policy. – Given the fixed geography of the state, other

states have an almost accurate intelligence where a threat might come from.

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• The very nature of the terrorist network implies diffusion and the lack of a well-established territorial centre.

• Terrorist organizations do not have fixed, permanent country but they use countries as safe havens and temporary military bases.

• For instance, Al-Qaeda uses Afghanistan, Sudan and Yemen as temporary bases, yet their terrorist activities take place in Western states and there are Al-Qaeda cells/members/sympathizers in Western countries.

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• In the post-Cold War era, the world was believed to be divided into two zones: – Peaceful zones• Western World • Developed countries

– Conflict zones/Wild zones• Failed States• Ethnic conflicts • Civil Wars• Terrorist activities

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• International Terrorism has changed this divided world picture.

• There is no peaceful zone which is secure from any terrorist attacks.

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Geopolitical events which cultivated the emergence of Al-Qaeda

• Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in 1979• American assistance to Taliban to fight against

Soviets• Islamic Revolution in Iran• US intervention to Iraq (The First Gulf War)• Yugoslavian war and ethnic cleansing of

Muslims in the Balkans

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• “No cliché is more stupefying than that which describes Al Qaeda as a throwback to medieval times. It is a by-product of globalisation. Like the worldwide drug cartels and virtual business corporations that developed in the 90s, it evolved at a time when financial deregulation had created vast pools of offshore wealth and organised crime had gone global. Its most distinctive form – projecting a privatised form of organised violence worldwide – was impossible in the past.” (Gray 2003: 1–2)

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War on terror• How to respond to a networked organization that changes

rapidly and unpredictably? • After 9/11 US’s strategy to fight against Al-Qaeda had three

strategic objectives: – Overthrow political regimes which are supporting or hosting terrorist

organizations– Eradicate terrorist cells– Exterminate terrorist leaders.

• The instrumental ways war on terror has been carried out: – Unilateral operations – Making alliances in the war on terror

• Seeking military contributions and intelligence sharing

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Bush Doctrine

– Based on neoconservatist foreign policy approach– US hegemony has to be maintained (Military

buildup)– US-style democracy has to be spread throughout

the world– Interventionist foreign policy: A process of regime

change through military means. – Preemptive attack: Military actions taken to

prevent a possible future aggression. It is a form of self-defence by anticipation.