Has the movement towards globalisation given rise to increased terrorist activities?

Globalisation is a phenomenon that has dominated the twenty-first century, with the advancements in technology. It has essentially managed to improve communication and trade world-wide and many countries, especially the developed ones, gain significant benefits from globalisation with increased economic returns. We embrace it and move towards it. Therefore, due to its rewarding nature, the security community ignored many of the security issues brought about by globalisation in the twentieth century. However, it must not be forgotten that because of globalisation, the world not only becomes smaller in terms of communication flows and net exports of goods and services, but also in terms of the reach of global terror. Terrorists make use of various aspects of globalisation to their advantage and the pressuring outcome is that terrorist activities have been increasing at an alarming rate. Statistics have shown that by comparing the number of terrorist activities in the 1960s to the twenty-first century, terrorist attacks have increased by more than a 200%. Therefore, I believe that to a relatively large extent, the movement towards globalisation has given rise to increased terrorist activities.

One probable reason for the staggering increase in terrorist activities can be due to the fact that the terrorist networks at work today make use the technological tools of globalisation. New communications such as the Internet has made it possible for extremist political organisations to build large organizational networks, exchange information, and combine resources. A prominent example would be the works of the terrorist organisation, Al-Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden. The organisation has literally migrated online to escape detection in an atmosphere of increased vigilance. As a result, the organization’s use of the Internet has grown more sophisticated, encompassing financing, recruitment, networking, mobilization, publicity, as well as information dissemination, gathering, and sharing. Videos of their terrorist activities are constantly uploaded onto the Internet to glorify the activity of jihadist suicide bombers, and to romanticise participation in jihad through stylised portraits of mosques and musical scores, among others. All these actions give rise to terrorism because it becomes easier and much more convenient for terrorists to promote their ideology, encourage worldwide participation in their movement, and it also provides them with a platform to carry out terrorist discussions all around the world simultaneously. This greatly improves their efficiency in carrying out their attacks.

Then, the increase in terrorist activities can also be the result of people being unhappy with globalisation. As paradoxical as it is, globalisation engenders terrorism: the wish to protect traditional cultures; it creates a sense of powerlessness for those for those left on the planet where there are no viable alternatives to the orthodoxies of the World Bank. Certain communities that are unable to benefit from globalisation for various reasons, for example, still have great pride in their cultural traditions and cannot accept second class status. They are also unable to accept the erosion of their cultures brought about by multinational companies residing in their countries. Multinational countries take over their surroundings. Bangalore in Karnataka, India, for instance, is most well-known for their manufacturing of electronics and due to the western influences from the multinational companies there, the state now resembles a typical western city, looking like Florida in America. Therefore, the inability for certain groups of people to accept these changes will in turn engender the need for expressive violence to garner attention to their discontent, be it communicative or symbolic. The expressive violence during the attack on the World Trade Centre, a global icon, on 11 September 2001 shows how globalisation gives expressive violence a greater symbolic force than ever.

However, it can also be argued that the movement towards globalisation has not given rise to increased terrorist activities. As mentioned before, globalisation will also lead to a more vigilant world. Communication flows become so much more improved that civilians also get first-hand information on possible terrorists and terrorist attacks. The cooperative efforts to stop these acts of violence worldwide were made possible by globalisation. This would very well deter terrorists from attacking, as they have to be much more sophisticated and meticulous in their planning in order to carry out their attacks successfully. Singapore is a good example of a globalised country that is able to deter terrorist attacks. The advanced technology brought about by globalisation has allowed the country to prevent any form of terrorist acts like suicide bombings from occurring successfully. Hence, the number of terrorist activities may fall instead of rise due to globalisation as well.

To further the argument, globalisation makes information more accessible than before. This can be a crucial factor that will lead to a possible decline in terrorist acts due to a phenomenon known as reverse radicalism. Education or re-education rather, can help to enlighten people about what it really means to be a terrorist and hence discourage them from being one. According to an article by TIME magazine, many ex-terrorists leave terrorist organisations because of the disappointment the experience gives them. This same article states that "nearly a dozen countries, including the U.S. in Iraq, have recently started programs to educate radicals about the gap between their religious ideals and the groups they follow—to essentially force the disenchantment process with the help of clerics and ex-terrorists." Therefore, with the focus being to reduce the number of terrorist, reduced terrorist activities is likely to follow suit. Although the success rates are still scarce, it does show that globalisation can actually help to reduce terrorist acts rather than increase it.

Then again, this increase in the number of terrorist activities could have nothing to do with our movement towards globalisation. It could namely be because of wars being fought. Statistics prove that there was a significant increase in the number of terrorist activities during the Cold War, with a percentage increase of 130% as compared to the years prior to that. The desire to sabotage the enemy country gives rise to terrorism during wars. Other statistics show that the recent Iraq war also brought about a sharp increase in terrorist attacks in just one year, with a percentage increase of 25% from 2005 to 2006. The Iraq situation was particularly worrisome because the country was turning into a laboratory and training ground for future terrorist attacks elsewhere. This could have given rise to increased terrorist activities and since it happened in the twenty-first century as well, it could have made it seem as if the increased terrorist acts were attributed to the movement towards globalisation when it was not.

In conclusion, globalisation could have provided a negative and positive impact on the rise of terrorism at the same time. However, it is evident that as far as terrorism is concerned, globalisation causes direct and substantial negative impacts. The irony of a globally connected world bringing more danger to ourselves will be prominent in years to come and is a complex problem that seeks immediate attention from the elitist group of people in our communities. The indisputable fact is that terrorist activities are on the rise somehow and we must take charge of the situation before terror reigns supreme.