Name: Ding Huina  Student ID: S08417
 
Research paper supervisor:Dr.Sekou Conde
 
Journalism of Central University for Nationalities  Minzu University of China
 
2008-2009 Academic Year
 
 
 
 
 
Abstract : In the past decade, terrorism has received a great deal of international attention. Since September 11, 2001, the United States the world has changed dramatically, Americans no longer feel secure, although they cannot measure the extent of the danger. From then , a series of terrorism accidents accused all over the world. This article will give the roots of terrorism and methods to governance the terrorism.
 
 
 
Key Words : terrorism definition cooperation governance
 
 
 
Introduction :The study of terrorism can be organized around the fellow questions: what is “terrorism”; why terrorism occurs, how the process of terrorism works, what its social and political effects and how to governance the terrorism. In this article , many figures and terrorism cases are cited, in order to distinguish a common pattern to search the roots of the terrorism. This article will focus on how to against terrorism and set the al-Qaeda as an example. Here the objective is to outline an approach to the analysis the causes of al-Qaeda and give methods to governance the terrorism.
 
 
 
“In 2006,there were 616 terrorist activities totally all over the world. In those cases ,2320 people died and 3450 people were injured. South Asia, Southeast and Middle East are the high occurrence area of terrorist activities, the number of the terrorist activities are 430, the rate is 70%”[i]From these tactics, we can learn that terrorism has become a global threaten. Facing these, countries all over the world have no choice but to combat it. Being less secure means, irresistibly, that the United States has to take steps, costly in any of a variety of ways, to help reestablish safety.1 What are the possibilities for stopping groups, organized largely abroad, from undertaking sustained campaigns in the United States of lethal terrorism? That-and not the more traditional problem of occasional, lowlevel terrorism-is the subject of this article.2
 
 
 
A)    Definition of terrorism
 
 
 
 Terrorism, like democracy and human rights, is one of the terms frequently appearing in the media today. It would be difficult to define it precisely and clearly in a few words, distinguishing it from other types of violence. A book on the subject (Political Terrorism by Alex Schmid, 1983) listed over 100 definitions of the terrorism, and analysis  the factors what they highlighted.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                Chart 1
 
Percent about 109 definitions on terrorism the fact[ii]
 

 

Elements

Percent

1

violence

83.5

2

Political

65

3

Highlight on fear

51

4

Menace

47

5

Psychological

41.5

6

Victim differs from the arm

37.5

7

 Plant, organized ,and military action

32

8

Battle stratergy and method

30.5

9

Ultra-conventional, generally accepted criteria for damage are not subject to the constraints of humanitarian

30

10

Coercion, extortion, and induce obedience

28

11

Openness

21.5

12

Occasionally and personality

21

13

Civilian population, non-combatant targets

17.5

14

Coerce

17

15

Stressed that the innocent victim

15.5

16

The actor group, movement , communication.

14

17

Demonstration to others

13.5

18

The unexpectable of violence accur

9

19

Secrety and bidden

9

20

Repeated  violence and sports series

7

21

Criminal

6

22

Requirements on third-party

4

 
From those factors, Schmid concluded the conception of terrorism. Whether need to think about so many elements when definition terrorism?
 
Obviously, as a definition of an conception, it was so complex.From the figure ,we can learn that the main characteristic of  terrorism are the follows: using of intimidation violence, make a terror atmosphere and the special political demand. Frederic S.Pearson and J. Martin Rochester think that : terrorism must contain  three factors :using of violence, political motive, the target most are civilians and they have no relation with the aim . As the third factor ,we can see in the terrorism accident terrorist in order to get their aim, for example nation separation , to attacked communal traffic.
 
As an action of using violence ,in some cases ,terrorism are familiar to the war. Because they both use violence to get aim. Present Bush called 9`11 “war”. But , from the conception, war and terrorism are not the same thing.
 
       Chart  2
 
[iii]
 
The relation ship between violence action, war and terrorism.
 
Besides, another difference between violence and terrorism is its destructiveness compared with other violence. An illustrative sample of destruction caused by different forms of violence shows that terrorism does not anywhere match the range of destruction caused by regular war, guerilla war and communal riots. Guerilla war in Vietnam and Cambodia escalated into regular war and turned into massacres of civilian population. Likewise, anti-Soviet guerillas in Afghanistan became engaged in indiscriminate killing in the style of modern- style. well-armed and well-organized communal rioters. Communal riots in the past involved simple tools like sticks. Stones,  nives, spears and swords. Now, guns and bombs, even missiles are used.
 
So, all the arguments  ,we can conclud the conception of terrorism.
 
 
 
B) Roots of terrorism
 
 
 
“As the terrorism is a politic tool , so the way of anti-terrorism must by the politic. Only remove the root of terrorism ,terrorism can disappear. ”[iv]About the reasons of the terrorism, in the academic field there are several theories: Frustration-Aggression, Anomie Theory, Subculture Theory, Conflict Theory, The Clash of Civilizations Theory, Theory of learning and imitation can explain this. But terrorism is a complicated thing, so the single theory can not support the view. Only from the structure of the global community and the domestic politic, economic and culture can resolve the issue.
 
 
 
1．Global disequilibrium of economic development and the widening gap between the rich and the poor
 
 
 
Here is a table about the distribution of global fortune between 1960—1994.[v]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
            Chart 3
 

Kind

Industrialized Countries

Developing
Countries

Former Soviet Union

1960

67.3

19.8

12.9

1970

72.2

17.1

10.7

1980

70.7

20.6

8.7

1989

76.3

20.6

3.1

1994

78.7

18.0

3.3

 
At the end of the 20th century, the speed of global economic growth and the scale of wealth accumulation have got the highest level. Simultaneously , as the global isequilibrium of economic development， the North-South gap broaden.
 
Until last 16th century, there is little gap at the income between the South and the North. The  GDP in most countries at $500 one year. At 1800, GDP in the western countries got $1000.while at 1900,it got $3000. However in the developing countries it still bogged down at $500.At 21th century, the GDP in most development countries has got $27000,while in most developing countries only $4000,especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, it was just $1600.[vi]
 
Three-quarters of the world total population live in developing countries，while they only possess one seventh of the world’s wealth.[vii] No wonder some people got a conclusion that : the North based on the countries of the South to maintain their leading position in economic. In the Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa and Latin American , the number of poverty were rising all the time in the past decades. In the world ,about 50,000 people die of poverty or the reasons related poverty. The population under the poverty line impoverished people have big troubles at education, reproduction health, disease and other fields .From that we can know that globalize did not benefit people all over the world, while many of them are excluded form the wealth. Their rights were deprived and they only own little social wealth. In the world , there are 15 million people are unemployed and 9 billion people are under-employment. Only one-quarter or third people all world benefit from globalize and high technology. Resentment hsiltation are resourced from unbalanced economic development, which made the antagonism between different regions. All the above composed the social foundation of terrorism.
 
 But some expert believed that terrorism has not direct relationship with poverty. They give an example that :terrorist always came from Middle-east ,South African, the GDP in all these countries were still higher than many western countries. Many of them have had a good education. But they were educated in religion schools andare breathed intofundamentalism, which is the basic thought of terrorism.
 
 
 
2．Colonialism and  expansion of major countries
 
 
 
Terror action appeared many years ago , murder was the earliest terrorist act. In the 44AD, Julius Caesar who was the king of Roman was murdered, which was the most famous terrorist act in the history.[viii]，while the modern terrorism come from the colonialism and imperialism. At 16th country , navigator discovered the New World, then disaster come to the African, Asia and Latin America. Some western countries like British Empire built companies to sell slaves. At 1750, some British businessmen build “African Trading Company” and made a competition with “Royal Trading Company”. At 1680~1686, “Royal Trading Company” sold 5,000 salves each year. But at 1760 ,it had resin at 36,000.While till 1771,it was 47,000.Between 1680~1786, number of slaves to the British  colony in North America had got 2,000,000[ix] As the definition of terrorism ,what we said above are not terrorism, because terrorism is :  retaliation for the weak to the strong, [...]