TOPIC INFO (UGC NET)
TOPIC INFO – UGC NET (Political Science)
SUB-TOPIC INFO – International Relations (UNIT 5)
CONTENT TYPE – Short Notes
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1. International Terrorism
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Terrorism: A Threat to International Peace and Security
1.3. International Terrorism: An Overview
1.3.1. State Sponsored Terrorism
1.3.2. Cyber-Terrorism
1.3.3. Narco-Terrorism
1.4. Combating Terrorism
2. Climate Change and Environmental Concerns
2.1. Global Initiatives, Conferences and Summits Relating to Environment Since 1972
2.2. Some International Conventions on Environment and Environment Related Matters
2.3. Conventions Regarding Regulation of Hazardous Wastes and Hazardous Chemicals
2.4. Conventions Relating to Nuclear Safety
2.5. 1997 Features of Kyoto Protocol, 1997
3. Human Rights
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Evolution
3.3. The UN and Human Rights
3.3.1. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
3.3.2. Mandate
3.3.3. Mission Statement
4. Migration and Refugees
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Contemporary Challenges in International Relations
International Relations (UNIT 5)
International Terrorism
Introduction
The September 11, 2001 attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center, New York, shocked not only the Americans but also people worldwide.
The attacks signaled that states are no longer impermeable, and even a superpower like the United States of America can become a victim of attacks.
These attacks were launched not by states but by invisible actors, with terrorism being one of the most dangerous forces at work globally.
Terrorism: A Threat to International Peace and Security
The terms terrorism and terrorist originated during the French Revolution, with the 1798 Dictionnaire of the Académie Française defining terrorism as système, régime de la terreur referring to the Reign of Terror between 1793-1794.
The term terrorism later acquired a broader meaning, and one of the early attempts to define it was by Hardman in the Encyclopedia of Social Sciences (1930s), describing terrorism as a method to achieve goals through systematic violence, including acts like assassinations, bombings, hostage-taking, and plane hijacking.
Terrorism became globalized, with countries like Afghanistan, Brazil, Myanmar, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, USA, India, Indonesia, Italy, and others suffering from terrorist attacks.
Terrorist organizations include groups like the Ejercito Revolutionary del pueblo (Argentina), Quebec Liberation Front (Canada), Baader Meinhoff Group (Germany), Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front and United Liberation Front of Assam (India), Provisional Irish Republican Army (Ireland), Red Brigades (Italy), Japanese Red Army (Japan), Palestinian Liberation Movement, and Black September Organisation (Palestine).
After the 9/11 tragedy, Al-Qaeda became the new epicenter of terror, with Osama bin Laden being a key figure.
Improvements in telecommunications, transportation, and technology have connected terrorist organizations globally through finances, training, or common enemies, leading to transnational terrorism.
International terrorism made its debut in the 1970s, particularly with the Lod airport assault in Israel (1972), marking the global nature of terrorism.
International terrorism is described as warfare without territory, where attacks occur worldwide with no civilian bystanders.
It involves terrorist outfits operating outside their country of origin, targeting diplomats, foreign corporations, and international flights.
Key criteria of terrorism include target, objective, motive, perpetrator, and illegitimacy.
Acts of terrorism often involve:
Use of Violence: Aimed at creating shock and fear, as seen in the Mumbai siege of 26/11.
Psychological Impact and Fear: Terrorists aim to break the morale of people, targeting national symbols like the World Trade Center.
Political Goal: Terrorism often serves a political purpose, applying pressure on governments.
Targeting Non-Combatants: Civilians are often targeted to instill fear and achieve political goals.
Use of Disguise: Terrorists hide among non-combatants, as seen in the Mumbai siege (2008).
Unlawfulness: Terrorism is often characterized by its illegitimacy, although state-sponsored terrorism complicates this definition.
International Terrorism: An Overview
Terrorism can be traced back to the 1st century C.E., with Jewish groups like the Zealots and the Sicarii launching campaigns against Roman occupation in Judea.
In 666 C.E., the Kharjites, a radical Muslim group, carried out assassinations of Muslim leaders they deemed to be at fault.
The Assassins, a Muslim terrorist group active in the 12th and 13th centuries, and the Hashashin were other early examples of terrorism in medieval Islam.
The Nardonaya Volya (Peoples Will) in the 19th century targeted Czarist officials for assassinations, aiming to trigger social revolts. Notable events include the assassination of Czar Alexander II in 1881 and Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, which were linked to anarchists and nationalists.
The 1920s saw the rise of right-wing terrorism among German Nazis and Italian Fascists, targeting political enemies and gaining public attention.
Groups in Eastern Europe in the 1980s, like the contras of Nicaragua, and the death squads in Haiti, Argentina, and Mozambique resembled criminal gangs, although the West often tolerated them in the context of the Cold War and their anti-communist stance.
Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush (Sr.) regarded the contras and the Mujahideen guerillas in Afghanistan as ‘freedom fighters’, but the irony is that the U.S. later fought the War on Terror in Afghanistan and Iraq after 9/11.
Personal interpretation plays a significant role in how terrorism is perceived, with what one side calls a terrorist, the other may call a ‘freedom fighter’ or other terms like separatists, liberators, revolutionaries, militants, guerillas, rebels, jihadi, or fedayeen.
After World War II, guerilla warfare and movements against colonial rule became the dominant form of terrorism in the developing world, often seen as legitimate movements by political leaders in those regions.
Irgun and Stern Gang used terrorism against British rule in Palestine, and Algerian revolutionaries targeted French police officers in the 1950s. The anti-British Mau Mau in Kenya and the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa used bombings and other acts of terrorism against colonial regimes.
In the 1980s, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism led to the spread of Islamic terrorism globally, impacting the safety, security, and sovereignty of nation-states.
1992 saw an Islamic revolt in Algeria after a military takeover denied Islamicists a parliamentary victory. This was part of a broader pattern of violence and counter-violence targeting Western-style secular governments in the region.
Intolerance towards the Western model of democracy became more pronounced, culminating in the 9/11 attacks when two planes crashed into the World Trade Center Twin Towers, a symbol of US pride and prudence, another crashed into the Pentagon, and a fourth missed the White House.
The War on Terror followed, with the United States and its allies invading Afghanistan and Iraq, leading to a global backlash and further terrorist attacks on the U.S. and its allies.
Terrorism has evolved from a local phenomenon to a global and transnational threat, increasing at an alarming pace.