Abreact
Political terrorism nowadays is an evil that need much attention. Police officers in their work shall avoid cultural conflicts and differences, misunderstandings of communication, and create more channels for mutual understanding among peoples of different cultures and beliefs.
Law enforcement shall be aimed to protect all the rights of people notwithstanding their belonging to minority or majority groups. People should understand differences of each other; learn to respect and appreciate the things they may have no idea about, which would be helpful in restraining of terrorism.
Introduction
Since all historical periods, political repressions and terrorism have been an integral part of social life. For a long time, relations between East and West have been marked by violence and cultural conflict.
Political terrorism is a concept which vividly portrays current state of international affairs and cultural conflict between the East and the West. This is a multidimensional notion which includes different spheres: economic, political, religious and social.
Thesis statement: the topic of psycho-political terrorism is important because helps politicians and leaders to understand and perceive role of political messages and campaigns introduced by the state, political organizations and independent terrorist groups. For centuries, western and eastern traditions have differed greatly which led to the conflict arising from authentic nature and cultural uniqueness of both hemispheres.
Background statement: in modern world, this process of confrontation leads to clash of civilizations which compete on the international arena.
Approach statement: in order to investigate and analyze the literature of the topic, critical thinking method will be used.
Problem statement: previous researchers on the topic pay no attention to the problems of cultural differences and political power of terror messages.
Review statement: the paper will address the problem of modern terrorism and intercultural relations, then, it will discuss the importance of psycho-political terrorism and its main principles. It should be mentioned that influence of both civilization is a highly complex subject which has an impact on cultures and societies in different ways: through norms and traditions, religious concepts and social institutions and globalization processes.
Literature Review
Terrorism cannot be justified because it is an aggression of one nation or a group of people against another. In most terrorist attacks, innocent victims are killed or injured. The research literature is presented by research studies and articles directly related to the problem of political terrorism and its methods.
The research article Foreword: Meanings of “Psychology as Politics” by D.Bar-Tal (2001) explains the main principles of political terrorism and its application in modern world. To some extend, this research portrays that clash of civilization is a cultural principle followed by generations of Muslim and western families.
Terrorism and separatism are a core of social life influenced by strong religious values and traditions. Through life chances and grievances of people, the author describes that terrorism is one of the most terrible threats and evils faced by modern community.
Brewer and Steenbergen (2002) in the articule, “All against All: How Beliefs about Human Nature Shape Foreign Policy Opinions” state that political terrorism cannot be justified because it brings fear and anxiety to peaceful populations, it causes killing and injuries to innocent people and because it involves rise of military and police forces, a threat to global peace and security.
Ccultural and religious identity is the main factors which lead to clash of civilization. In some Eastern countries the creation of social culture influenced by religion traditions is seen as a priority and a great deal of time and effort is given to obtrusion of religious dogmas. Islamic fundamentalism is considered now as the main adversarial political and cultural form which competes with western traditions and modernization of the western world.
Chanley (2002) and Healy et al (2002) explain that political terrorism creates a conflict between the East and the West, and has tremendous and unpleasant consequences for both civilizations. In Asia and Middle East the impact of religion on life of common citizens is stronger in comparison with Europe and America. Fundamentalism becomes a remarkable feature of Islam threatening millions of Western believers around the globe.
Weltman and Billig (2001) state portrays that the influence of religion on western culture and society differs in all the countries. The author concentrates on psychological aspects of political terror. It is caused by differences in religion traditions and bonding of cultural and religious life.
Mass suicides of young girls in Kar are a result of religious policies and ideals of Muslim society. Similar to Weltman and Billig (2001), Perez (2001) underlines that Western culture embodies a certain cultural and social values followed by Europeans for several centuries. Western style of life has emerged as a template of change in an over-changing world and yet a repository of carefully conserved verities as old as the promise of freedom.
Modern western culture has kept the message of liberation and freedom alive, social change agents brining novelty and new vision of cultural norms. The policy of aggressiveness is important and it reflects broad cultural traits. Perl (2001), in the research study, “Terrorism, the Future, and U.S. Foreign Policy” says that processes of globalization and modernization have an impact on western cultural trends and values.
Modernization and new social relations inside the community embrace all spheres of life changing gender roles and status of women in the society. In contrast to Muslim culture, Western culture embodies recent technological developments and innovations, and it is opened to new ideas and innovative tends. Islamic culture and Islamic fundamentalism differs greatly from western norms and traditions.
Cacioppo and Visser (2002) underline that terrorism involves the systematic use of torture and the rise of military and police forces engaged in an internal war against a subject population. This form of terrorism may also be waged through shadow organizations, death squads, and the like that have no official power but that are clearly linked with the national elite.
However, to focus on regime terror is often deceptive. Cirincione (2000) and Augsburger (2002) suppose that terrorism has the right to exist because it allows people to fight against oppression and violence, misunderstanding and the state power. For some groups, terrorism is the only possible form to be heard by the state.
There are other more optimistic assumptions, rooted first in a conception of the broadcast and printed media are structurally aligned with the state in the legitimating of its own kind. The enduring assumptions underlying the nature of terrorism remain familiar.
The somewhat promiscuous association of the term with the Soviet Union, Eastern European, and socialist Third World states stand as a variation of the same old Red scare. The main problem which leads to the clash of civilizations is that Muslim fundamentalism will not be able to compete with liberal democracies lies in its confusion regarding the domains which belong respectively to God.
The matter is not that priests or mullahs are not always the best politicians or administrators. This is a relatively minor problem. In general, clash of civilizations marked all spheres of life including ideological, political, social and economic and religious issues.
Mishal and Morag (2002) and Huddy et al (2002) underline that political terrorism cannot be justified because it represents a threat for national borders and security, it causes fear and anxiety to global population, it represents violence against peaceful populations and does not bring desired benefits to terrorists.
Terrorism cannot be justified because it involves the systematic use of military and police forces against the established order and global peace. On the other hand, Islam becomes an effective tool in the hands of terrorist organizations trying to influence world’s politics.
There are different pints of view on the threat of Islamic fundamentalism, but all critics come to conclusion that Islam and clash of civilization will influence political and economic system of the world. On the margin of credibility, some of these projects have carried rejection of existing institutions to extreme lengths – living in elected poverty, in communes rejecting conventional family forms.
Others have made various compromises with conventional working procedures and attempted to evolve their own internal systems with a premium on participation and internal democracy, practicing collective leadership and decision-taking.
Islamic fundamentalism will have a growing impact on the global community and politics, economic and religion eventually spreading outwards into the West with both the pluses and minuses of this religious and political force.
Research Methodology
The literature review is based on a critical thinking method. The literature review allows me to say that while the dominance of the trading class continued, a small settler class with its own political goals arose alongside it. In wild rubber, moreover, the whites had a new, easily collectible, potential export product.
But the transition from a labor-exporting economy to one which utilized local natural resources seems to have been beyond strength. The cities were also subservient to the needs of the more important Asian and South American possessions (see Appendix, Tables 1 and 2).
All the authors reviewed for analysis use avid images of oppression and suffering to create a unique world unknown to people. The difference is governed not merely by language, but by an entire attitude. At once serious in nature and ludicrous in expression, is representative of the general dramatic situation in which the evil characters of the novel find themselves.
This curious juxtaposition of elements has been aptly characterized by the phrase, the evil. Like other powers, the whites also acted on the maxim of divide and rule, destroying the larger polities in order to integrate the smaller divisions into the colonial state.
That radically altered the political landscape and also ushered in fundamental social and economic transformations. The latter did not always signify progress for the Muslim communities but because they lay outside the ken of colonial officials went unconsidered by them.
Discussion and Conclusions
In this research study the problem of political terrorism and its methods were analyzed. It was found that relations between East and west are based on cultural and religious conflict heated by political differences and terror attacks. Since the national hero is essentially the man who falls victim to vice, there are no suffering innocents.
Weltman and Billig (2001) defined structure of the morality as both suffering and evil If the dramatic context provided the essential clue for the interpretation of evil and suffering, the solidity and permanence of that context was responsible for the unshakeable conventions which governed the expression of suffering and evil.
Perl (2001) explains that terrorism also involves the systematic use of torture and the rise of military and police forces engaged in an internal war against a subject population. This form of political terrorism may also be waged through shadow organizations, death squads, and the like that have no official power but that are clearly linked with the national elite.
Perez (2001), Chanley (2002) and Bar-Tal (2001) find that to cast the issue of terrorism as the abuse of state power by political deviants may be to ignore the more endemic, taken-for-granted, higher forms of sanctioned violence that avoid the terrorist label. It may also ignore state structural imperatives (expressed in policy and action, including the threat or use of force) designed to preserve a transnational market system (Cacioppo and Visser 2003; Chanley 2002; Huddy et al 2002).
From the analysis, it becomes evident that the world is constantly changing due to the increasing migration process and rapid communication systems. These factors create a greater interconnection among people, but at the same time the references to human values are lost.
Human rights are being more and more disrespected. Instead of searching for shared values, people tend to live according to individual patterns where identities are closed and not open to the new trends of a multifaceted society. American nation includes people from all over the world with different beliefs and habits. On this basis there are many conflicts regarding nationality, beliefs, origin, and crimes.
Ethnic conflicts arise every day among people in the society. Although problems between the people have changed in the present generation, ethnic issues have been plain since the beginning of time. One may define terrorism as the use of violence against civil people in order to achieve political goals. There are many forms of protest, such as strikes and peaceful demonstrations, but terrorism acts always involve violence or the treat of violence.
The most awful thing in terrorism is that its targets are noncombatants or civilians. Usually terrorism begins in one particular area, but later is spreads to other regions. After that the other countries began to create new laws and restrictions in order to protect its people. It was done notwithstanding the fact that the attacks were not focused towards that specific region.
References
Augsburger, David W. (2002). Conflict Mediation Across Cultures: Pathways and Patterns. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox.
Bar-Tal, D. (Jun., 2001), Foreword: Meanings of “Psychology as Politics” Political Psychology, 22 (2), Psychology as Politics pp. 219-226
Brewer, P. J., Steenbergen, M. R. (Mar., 2002), All against All: How Beliefs about Human Nature Shape Foreign Policy Opinions. Political Psychology, 23 (1), pp. 39-58.
Cacioppo, J. T., Visser, P. S. (Dec., 2003), Political Psychology and Social Neuroscience: Strange Bedfellows or Comrades in Arms? Political Psychology, 24 (4), pp. 647-656.
Chanley, V. A. (Sep., 2002), Trust in Government in the Aftermath of 9/11: Determinants and Consequences. Political Psychology, 23 (3), Special Issue: 9/11 and Its Aftermath: Perspectives. pp. 469-483
Cirincione, Joseph. (2000). Repairing the Regime: Preventing the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction.. New York: Routledge.
Healy, A. F., Hoffman, J. M., Beer, F. A., Bourne, L. E. Jr. (Sep., 2002), Terrorists and Democrats: Individual Reactions to International Attacks. Political Psychology, 23 (3), Special Issue: 9/11 and Its Aftermath: Perspectives. pp. 439-467.
Huddy, L., Feldman, S. Capelos, Th., Provost, C. (Sep., 2002), The Consequences of Terrorism: Disentangling the Effects of Personal and National Threat. Source: Political Psychology, 23 (3), pp. 485-509.
Mishal, Sh., Morag, N. (Jun., 2002), Political Expectations and Cultural Perceptions in the Arab-Israeli Peace Negotiations. Political Psychology, 23 (2), pp. 325-353.
Perez, A. G. (Jun., 2001), Political Psychology as Discipline and Resource. Political Psychology, 22 (2), pp. 347-356.
Perl, Raphael F. (2001). Terrorism, the Future, and U.S. Foreign Policy. Policy Papers. September 13. Congressional Research Service.
Weltman, W., Billig, M. (Jun., 2001), The Political Psychology of Contemporary Anti-
Politics: A Discursive Approach to the End-of -Ideology Era. Source: Political Psychology, 22 (2), Psychology as Politics pp. 367-382.
Appendix
Table 1
Table 2
