STATE UNIVERSITY OF MOLDOVA

FACULTY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, POLITICAL AND

ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Botnari Iulia

Modern Terrorism
at the Beginning of the 21st Century

Report

Author: ______________
Scientific leader: _____________
EJOVA Cristina, associate professor

Chișinău,2017
Оглавление
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 2
[Link] concept and notion of "terrorism" ............................................................................................ 4
[Link] Terrosim .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
[Link] at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century ................................................................ 5
[Link] Terrorism in Europe,Middle East and Asia ........................................................................ 6
Conclusions and Recomandations ..................................................................................................... 6
Bibliography ....................................................................................................................................... 6

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 Introduction
Actuality and importance of the theme. Terrorism is not a new phenomenon; it has
long been a method of violence action by organizations and individuals trying to achieve
political goals. The dynamic nature of terrorism further exacerbates the threat such actors
pose to security officials. Even if they achieve success in foiling terrorist plots, security
Agencies cannot rest on their accomplishments as terrorist organizations constantly change
their tactics, organizational structure, and even their tactical objectives. As such, terrorist
groups and those who work to counter them are constantly competing strategically in an
attempt to stay one step ahead of each other, whether via new technologies or operational
tactics. In this manner, the phenomenon of terrorism has evolved over the years, with each
stage emerging more dangerous and lethal than the preceding stage.

Lately, Terrorism does in fact aim to “terrorize” its target population. While terrorist
attacks are ordinarily limited in terms of resulting fatalities, their effect does not stop with the
physically harmed crowd.A message of intimidation and fear is passed to the general public
through the terrorist act itself and the resulting media coverage. Video cassettes edited by
terrorist organizations, false alarms of possible follow-up attacks, and other methods adopted
by terrorist groups, all contribute to a general sense of anxiety and fear.

Modern terrorism is aimed primarily at increasing the public's fear of terrorism to a

level of irrational and uncontrolled anxiety. The random nature of terrorist attacks actually
personalizes the threat: anyone, including one's self or and loved one, could be the next
victim. Such an irrational fear translates into political pressure on leaders to meet terrorist
demands, as people feel they must do whatever it takes to halt a terrorist campaign. This is
basically the method of modern terrorism, which has come to characterize the activities of all
terrorist organizations in the second half of the twentieth century and the beginning of the
twenty-first century.

And that's why the issue is quite current at the moment and it is important to understand
where terrorism came from and what are the development tendencies in the 21st century, what
are its premises and its characteristics.

The purpose of this report is the investigation of terrorism at the beginning of the 21st
century and the ways of its development. Aesthetics is a complex subject that must be
analyzed, for what factors are factors that play a role in the development of terrorism and
what is the nature of terrorism in the 21st century .
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 At the beginning of the study, I will try to identify the features and role of modern
terrorism for international society, so I have proposed the following objectives:

 to delimit the notion of terrorism;

 identify the ways in which terrorism develops;
 to analyze the suicide attack phenomenon;
 to analyze Salafi jihadist movement;
 to determine the characteristics of modern terrorism in Europe, Asia and the
Middle East;
 to reach some conclusions and to give recommendations on the issue

Keywords: terrorism, modern terrorism, international terrorism, 21st century, threat,

violence, suicide attcaks, jihadist.

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 1. The concept and notion of "terrorism"
To begin, it seems appropriate to define the term terrorism. Within terrorism lies the
word terror. Terrorcomes from the Latin terrere, which means “frighten” or “tremble.” When
coupled with the French suffix isme(referencing “to practice”), it becomes akin to “practicing
the trembling” or “causing the frightening.” Trembling and frightening here are synonyms for
fear, panic, and anxiety—what we would naturally call terror.

Terrorism is a contested concept. While there are many national and regional
definitions, there is no universal legal definition approved by the General Assembly of the
United Nations (the one proposed by the Security Council in Res. 1566 (2004) is non-binding,
lacking legal authority in international law). The Ad Hoc Committee on Terrorism of the
6th(legal) Committee of the General Assembly has, with some interruptions, been trying to
reach a legal definition since 1972 - but in vain.

Throughout the years, various scholars have attempted to define terrorism. Yet, the term
is so loaded with conceptual problems that a totally accepted definition of it still does not
exist. The irony is that the recurrent theme of terrorism has become the daily part of the
political drama of modern times. One just needs to turn on the TV to hear about it constantly.
Below is a list of definitions of terrorism by some of the most distinguished scholars and
institutions on the matter:

 One of the first scientific definitions of terrorism has been given by the
American historian J. Hardman in the article «Terrorism» published in the fourteenth volume
of the "Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences" in 1934. By terrorism J. Hardman understood the
method by which an organized group or party seeks to achieve its stated objectives primarily
through the systematic use of violence. Terrorist acts are directed against people who
represent personalities, agents or representatives of the authorities that are an obstacle for the
the achievement of the objectives of the group.1
 Walter Laqueur: “Terrorism is the use or the threat of the use of violence, a
method of combat, or a strategy to achieve certain [Link] aims to induce a state of fear in the
victim, that is ruthless and does not conform with humanitarian [Link] is an essential
factor in the terrorist strategy.”

1
J. Hardman ,«Terrorism», fourteenth volume of the "Encyclopedia of the Social
Sciences",1934
4
  Alex Schmid and Albert Jongman: “Terrorism is an anxiety-inspiring method
of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-)clandestine individual, group, or state actors,
for idiosyncratic, criminal, or political reasons, whereby—in contrast to assassination—the
direct targets of violence are not the main targets. The immediate human victims of violence
are generally chosen randomly (targets of opportunity) or selectively (representative or
symbolic targets) from a target population, and serve as message generators.”
 Stephen Sloan: the definition of terrorism has evolved over time, but its
political, religious, and ideological goals have practically never changed.
 League of Nations Convention Definition of Terrorism (1937): terrorist acts are
“all criminal acts directed against a State and intended or calculated to create a state of terror
in the minds of particular persons or a group of persons or the general public.”

As one can see, there are problems about attaining an all-inclusive definition. As Yasser
Arafat, late Chairman of the PLO (the Palestine Liberation Organization), notably said in a
1974 speech before the United Nations, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom
fighter.” This statement exemplifies the ease with which politicians’ biases can influence their
definitions of terrorism.

Trying to define terrorism is like being in an Alice-in-Wonderland universe; it is a

concept that no one can clearly define and even involves actors that no one can specifically
identify. While some definitions are precise, others lack important aspects of terrorism .

2. Modern Terrorism at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century

Modern terrorism became common toward the end of the twentieth century due to,
among other things, advances in technology, the development of new weapons, and the
activities of some governments after World War II. In the period of the cold war and nuclear
deterrence, the phenomenon of state-sponsored terrorism developed as an alternative to
traditional warfare. Terrorist organizations were utilized within a framework of local conflicts
and used as tools to expand the global influence of a superpower, for example, the Soviets.

While terrorism sponsored by states such as Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Sudan decreased at
the end of the twentieth century, other states, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, became
more involved with terrorist groups.

The intervention of “big powers” in regional disputes, as in Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya,

and the Gulf War, may have led sub-state groups and third world coun-tries to turn to
5
terrorism or other low intensity measures as a means of fighting for their causes in the face of
disproportionate military power. In the past, political goals could be achieved only through
the use of armies in a conventional war set-ting; today, it requires only a handful of
determined individuals. By engaging in terrorist activities, these attackers can achieve the
same aims without putting the burden of blame on a state sponsor. Examples can be drawn
from attacks executed in Dhahran in Saudi Arabia in June 1996 and against the American
military training facility in Riyadh in November 1995.

Terrorism is a form of asymmetric warfare in which a non-state actor fights a state.

However, contrary to the popular understanding of the term, the balance of power between the
two actors does not necessarily favor the state. Even though, prima facie, the state has
stronger military, intelligence, and economic capabilities than the terrorist organization, a
modern liberal-democratic state is subject to the rules of war and harboring of values, which,
in effect, restrict its ability to operate and maneuver. A form of reverse asymmetry is
established as a result: in a conflict portrayed as a war between David and Goliath, Goliath
(the state) is bound hand and foot, while David (the sub-state actor) is exempt from all moral
or legal restraints.

At the end of the twentieth century, the phenomenon of modern terrorism experienced
another shift in terms of geography. Terrorist activity increased in central and south Asia,
shifting focus from the traditional epicenter of the Middle

The Suicide Attack Phenomenon

Salafi jihadism and the War on Terror

[Link] Terrorism in Europe,Middle East and Asia

Conclusions and Recomandations

Bibliography