How Democracy Can Fight Terrorism Research Assignment (Essay Sample)

HOW DEMOCRACY CAN FIGHT TERRORISM
Name Subject Date
HOW DEMOCRACY CAN FIGHT TERRORISM
Since the incident of September 11th, 2001, the world has been asking if Democracy is going to help curb terrorism. Even the governments have been asking themselves the same question how democracy is going to be a tool to finish terrorism in the word. The terrorist attack changed how the society views and perceives issues, and since then the fight for terrorism has been the number one priority of the government.
The first response by the United States was to invade Afghanistan because they owned weapons of mass destruction. But after invading Iraq, they never found such weapons. Currently, the war on terrorism includes introducing democracy to such countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan even if the civilians pose the challenges of resistance since most of them are Muslims and are not ready to adopt democracy in their culture. The widely promoted theory is that if the aristocrats can be changed to Democrats terrorism will be curbed. But the public has created a new perspective of the situation. They believe that the fight against terrorism is a war against terror.[Dare, A. 2013. "Terrorism, Democracy and Global security." European Scientific Journal 2.]
This view of democracy has created more tension among the civilians since those who have already accepted democracy are seen to be deserters by those who have not yet subscribed to the principles of democracy. This tension creates a risk of an outbreak of a civil war between the subscribers and those who are not for democracy. The presence of the United States Army in Iraq has stirred tension among critics who argue that their presence is interfering with the cultures of the Muslim society. President George W. Bush argued that democracy is the only solution to counter terrorist activities in countries that have not yet enjoyed Democracy.[Tiberiu, D., Polborn, M. 2014. "The rule of law in the fight against terrorism." American Journal of Political Science 2 511-525.]
This paper will be trying to establish the relationship between democracy and terrorism and how democracy can be used to curb terrorism. And if there is a link between terrorism and democracy, how strong it is. The paper will also review the effect Democracy will have on a society that has not yet experienced Democracy before .[Dare, A. 2013. "Terrorism, Democracy and Global security." European Scientific Journal 2.]
Many scholars have advocated for the development of democracy in the world to curb terrorism. Such scholars have given out different definitions of the two disciplines and the theories on how democracy can be used to curb terrorism in the world and eventually vanish it.
According to Enders and Sanders, terrorism is the when a group of individuals exploits the public through violence or threats to bring violence to the society so as to achieve political changes. Such exploitations are directed towards the civilians that make a broad audience.
Another scholar Crenshaw defines Terrorism in a more direct manner. She describes terrorism as a case when a group of people induces fear and anxiety in the civilians with the aim of directing them. Garr also gives out a definition of terrorism as the system in which political violence such as mutinies, assassinations and attempts to overthrow governments. Hoffman also defines terrorism as a move to build fear in the public by violent activities or giving out threats in a bid for changes in governance and politics . Another scholar, Newland, defines terrorism as an activity that involves deliberate killing of innocent people so as to send a message to the government or targeted group. All these definitions try to give out an explanation by many as an activity practiced by labels and involves violence. This terrorist groups typically refer themselves as freedom fighters or such heroic names.[Friedrich, H. 2012. "A new statement of the liberal principles of justice and political economy." Law, legislation, and Liberty.]
Democracy also does not have a precise definition. It has been defined by scholars such as Lipset who defines it as the ability of the government to supply the public with stable opportunities to elect new government officials according to the constitution.
Another scholar also describes democracy as a case where people are willing to treat each other with equality in a political ground. He argued that it follows the following procedure to ensure everybody feels that he or she has been treated with equality. Equal participation in policy formulation. Equal opportunity to be part of elections for the election of government officials.
Policies are open to change anytime members feel there is need to change, each member to have equal opportunities to learn and study policies that are relevant to their system and lastly permanent residents should have the full rights of citizenship. Dahl argues that political rights are the fundamental components of democracy. In trying to use democracy to curb terrorism, the core principles of democracy should not be changed or otherwise it will no longer be democratization.[Tolga, T., Crenshaw, M. 2013. "Causes, processes, and Consequences." Explaining Terrorism]
Dahl defines democracy as the process of being able to have a free and fair elections, governmental departments, civil liberties and equal opportunities for organization and formulation of public policies through voting. Lipset also suggests that for a democratic entity to feel the democratic conditions, freedom of the press and the government departments associated with checks and balances should be exercised.
Causes of Terrorism
Since we have known what is being referred to terrorism, we will now try to determine why it occurs and what motivates individuals to involve themselves in terrorist activities.
Crenshaw argues out that the primary cause and motivation of terrorist activities in a country is
the presence of a failed government. This gives encouragement to the Radical groups to undertake terrorist activities since they know they will get away with it since the government in place is not stable enough to curb their operations. Advancement in technology also has in one way or the other facilitated terrorism activities. For example, the development of missiles that can be controlled remotely can motivate one to commit a terrorist activity. People who decide to involve themselves with terrorist activities are most often the minority groups that are disregarded in the community. They mostly feel that they have been neglected by the government this person who is discriminated comes together and forms a group with a primary objective of fighting for their rights. Therefore this people resolve to violence and other extreme measures to convey their grievances or pressure for a change (Turker 2013).[Ulmschneider, W., Lutz, M. 2014. "USA Patriotic Act." The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice.]
Crenshaw categorizes the factors that motivate one into terrorism as structural, psychological and rational choice. Crenshaw argues that there is no particular method to quantify psychological aspects that drive one into committing terrorist activities but still it can be considered as a factor that motivates one into committing terrorist activities and the decision they make after that.
Crenshaw also emphasizes that not everybody who is discriminated resorts to terrorism or violate activities so as to pass his or her message. Otherwise, terrorists view the government as the primary cause of their discrimination and inequities. She continues and says that inequities play a significant role in stirring up radical groups and consequently terrorist activities. Like for Example in case the government does not allow all its citizens to take part in elections. This will create a filling of discontent in this group of people. This feeling and desire for change will drive this neglected group into violence or terrorist activities just in a bid to remove the existing government from power.
Also if the government calls for reforms in the constitution that restrain protests by use of extra force, the majority part of the population may join the radical groups to fight back such changes despite the fact that they don’t support the extremists. Rational choices refer to the reasons the terrorist groups give to recruits to make them join their course. Many scholars seem to have a common view of what causes terrorism. Enders and Sanders (1999) highlights the reasons for terrorism as economic iniquities, fight for religious freedoms, discrimination, separatism, and nihilism.
Wilkinson and Bell also highlighted the real cause of terrorism. Political injustices, inequalities in both social and economic amenities, existence of a weak counter-terrorism mechanisms and emergency of ideologies that motivate terrorism. Kruger also suggested that political biases are the main causes of terrorism activities. The degree of modernization and the geographical location also can be direct causes of terrorist activities. They are perceived to affect the scope and the frequency of terrorist activities in a particular country or region. Presence of cheap weapons in the black market, weak terrorist control systems, existence of other forms of unrest like civil wars, and social-cultural factors can also be direct causes of terrorist activities[Friedrich, H. 2012. "A new statement of the liberal principles of justice and political economy." Law, legislation, and Liberty]
Although we have noted several causes of terrorism, many people still argue and believe that the primary cause of terrorism is the Islamic religion. Historical review of the background development of terrorism and how it is involved with Islam claim that the Islamic faith is just tool used by the terrorist and cannot be conside...