Terrorism in Europe
Terrorism has become a global concept in the recent past. According to Bossong [1] terrorism entails an individual or organized group involving in activities that instills terror in people through mental or physical threats. Many countries in the world precisely European nations have been hit with this global phenomenon at some stage. The inhuman act has caused loss of lives of innocent people and damage to properties. A good example of a terrorism incident is a case in France on 21st December 2014 when a man who was shouting “Allahu Akbar” deliberately ran over pedestrians in Dijon; eleven people were injured in the terror incident[2]. The increase in terror threats has forced many European nations to put in place mechanisms to combat terror attacks. For instance, the French government has established legislations that have promoted closing of websites that supports terror activities.
Despite massive investments in intelligence gathering and security in guaranteeing the safety of citizens, the terror menace has not been addressed conclusively. For example, European Union has tightened immigration rules for their members’ states. All people have to be scrutinized thoroughly. Airlines have also been required to share specific information about all passengers on board with the security. German on the other hand has invested in techno- serve security gadgets and hiring more anti terror police to help combat the act. In addition, the country has confiscated travel documents for those people who are suspected to be travel to the Middle East to help in fighting. A study by Randal reveals that almost 5000 residents of Europe have moved to Iraq and Syria to help their Islamic militants in fighting[3]. The rising number of people joining terrorism is a clear indicator of how the terror groups have widened their network for recruiting. England has in the recent past have problems with immigrants from the Arab origin who come to Europe but fails to abide by the host country’s ideologies. The immigrants have also engaged in radicalization activities a fact that has forced the UK to tap electronic communications so as to deal with domestic terror among immigrants. However, the effectiveness of this strategy is yet to be proven, France for example has established the strongest data network that taps people’s conversations, yet this did not prevent terror attacks from happening[4].
Many countries have a different understanding of terrorism depending on the unique nature of its effects. Some countries for example face terrorism inform of fighting with religious groups. This is reminiscence in Iraqi where we have constant fights between the Sheer and the Sunni groups of Muslims all whom are fighting over controlling the countries leadership. In other countries, terrorism is fueled by greed when a section of individuals wants to have total control over natural resources and means of production. Besides war on leadership supremacy, Al-shabab terror groups have been fighting to control multi-million charcoal businesses in the port of Kismayu in Somali. The port is a gateway to the Middle East, which makes transportation of the charcoal easily. In addition, terrorists smuggle goods through the port and sell them in east Africa with the aid of their trade associates and sympathizers. Terror has lead to wastage of a lot of money since many countries spend a sizable amount of money in combating terror activities. This money, which is used on establishment of anti terror units, can be used in other developmental activities[5].
European countries have been under constant terror threats because of stringent rules immigration rules and other religious related activities. Those immigrants from the Islamic countries resort to violence as the only way of expressing their displeasure to the rules. For example, Bossong[6] note that the French government passed a law which banned the use of Hijab which is a headgear used by Muslim women to cover their faces. The bun caused an outcry among the Muslim communities most of whom are immigrants. Most Muslims claimed that the ban was an encroachment into their human rights.
This paper will seek to put into perspective the relationship that exists between the policies of the local government and terrorism as well developing a workable proposal on how the terror menace can be combated.
Hypothesis
Local government policies are major contributor to terrorism activities in Europe.
Relationship between policies of the local government and terrorism
Many terror groups in the world are at war with governments that they feel that they do not satisfy their quest for power or some underlying basic rights that they feel that they have been denied. In the United Kingdom for example, studies shows that most of the terror threats are caused by citizens of Arab descent. This development poses a major question as to why European countries seem to have many enemies compared to the other regions in the world is the key issue under study. During the era of imperialism for example, Britain and France who were the most powerful European nations colonized Arab nations in Asia and North Africa. In the long ran, these countries ended up exploiting their oil resources without doing much to develop these countries. The Arabs were not happy with the concept of Arab feminism, which was opposed to Islamic nature of patriarchy that glorifies men. The loyalist branded feminism as an extended Imperialism and an insult to their culture. These countries united to fight the growing threat of their women opposition to wearing of headscarf. Any woman who was engaged to such acts was termed as a traitor and was subjected to a death sentence or even life imprisonment. This influence has caused escalation of tension between Arab nations and European nations[7].
Many scholars have tried to speculate why terror activities are levied against citizens of European nationalities. Randal alleges that most of countries in the Arab world have been segregated by European countries[8]. Also most of the Arab countries are not happy with indiscriminate exploitation of their resources by European countries especially those which colonized them. As result of this, many citizens in Arab nations have been radicalized and made to believe that European countries are an enemy to Arabs. This is evident from terror attacks levied against the United Kingdom in 7th July 2005 when a group of terror militia attacked civilians and the public transport system[9].
Policies of many governments in Europe play a big role in fuelling terrorism attack on European countries. Recent bombings in France, United Kingdom, and Germany have been linked to Al Qaeda militia group. Britain for example through the umbrella of European Union sent its troops to Iraqi to help in fighting the terror groups which were a threat to peace in the Middle East. This invasion saw the ending of Saddam Hussein regime. NATO also joined hands with other powerful nations in the world like the united states in sending troops to Afghanistan with an aim of flushing out AL Qaeda terror groups which were said to be hiding Osama bin Laden after a group of five individuals who were affiliated to Al Qaeda hijacked American Boeing aircraft and crashed in deliberately on the Pentagon house causing massive destruction of property and loss of life. However, most of these rebels are always not pleased with these moves thus threaten to take retaliatory measures against countries in Europe, which are in the fore front in the fight against international terrorism. The Iraqi government to an extent also facilitated in escalating the level of hatred between Arab nations and European countries by allowing European nations to take part in their internal wrangles. Although these countries were driven by a common goal of enhancing peace and stability in the gulf region, those forces that were opposing the government and their sympathizers perceived this as an attack to the Arab world countries. This example is a great indicator of how local government policies can help fuel terror activities[10].
Relations between local government policies and terrorism can be well illuminated in the issue of nationality. Every European country has its own mechanisms that guides in on when one is to become a citizen. The technique used to establish the validity of an individual’s citizenship is always enshrined in the countries legal frameworks. In the United Kingdom for instance, one can be a citizen by birth, registration, or naturalization. The idea of identifies persons depending on their nationalities goes handy with protecting the country from terrorist who might come in the country inform of visitors or asylum seekers. In United Kingdom for one to become a citizen, he must undergo a series of assessments especially when one is from the Arab states so as to determine the real intensions of the person moving to the UK. It is a strategy of helping keep terrorists a t bay in their soil thus minimizing chances of attack.
European identity has facilitated in the fueling of terror among citizens of Europe. In UK and France for example, Europeans are treated gets special treatment compared to other immigrants who are either from Africa or Arab origin. However, those are an anti-Arab attitude among the states in the Europe, which perceives Arabs as a threat to the national security, and have to be monitored at all time. This has fueled hatred between citizens of European descent and Arabs. Those groups which are at the periphery may sought to engage in other violent activities so as to make the native s of the host countries respect them. The negative attitude towards the Arabs and other immigrants of Islamic origin has caused an increase in unemployment rate among youths of Somali origin. Lack of job opportunities forces to live in deplorable conditions since the cost of life especially in London is a bit high. These youths usually decide to engage in terror activities with an aim of fighting governments, which has failed to put in place legislations that will help protect the rights of both the majority and the minority[11].
Racial factor have been also attributed to the escalation of aggression among individuals. Since the world is made of people from diverse racial groups, it is clear that cases of conflict between differences in opinions and worldviews in terms of the way one group perceives the other are likely to occur. In the United States for instance, the whites are accorded special treatment compared to the whites. In addition the blacks were branded as terrorists a fact that caused conflict and constant violent activities .Furthermore, most of the Somalis and Arabs immigrants in the united kingdom live in low class residential places due to limited socio-economic opportunities, many citizens of these type of race can only get aces to manual work which is not enough to sustain the high cost of living. The Arabs by virtue of their skin complexion can easily be identified making them to be subjected to unnecessary scrutiny by the security agencies a fact that did not go well with a number of people[12].
Stringent government policies on terrorism have also lead to an increase in attacks. For instance, if one is arrested or suspected to be having links with terror groups, the individual is always arrested and imprisoned for life or death sentence. In the event that a member of the terror group looses a relative while under the care of the government, the individual is likely to organize for retaliatory activities in revenging the death of his relative. The ides of United Kingdom reaching a bilateral trade agreement with Saudi Arabia seemed to anger AL Qaeda. This is because Saudi Arabia decided to sell its oil to United Kingdom in support of industries while getting ammunitions and other intelligence on fighting of terror groups who wanted to control the oil fields. The local policy on trade has seen many militia groups from the Middle East plan attacks on England.
Proposals on how to end terrorism
There are a number of strategies that can be useful in combating terror activities in Europe. To begin with, there is need to involve ever citizen in issues related to security besides massive investments. The strengthening of homeland security can be a good strategy in dealing with the menace where by each and everybody seek to know the ware about of his neighbor and the activities that they engage in. this strategy is useful because in the event that an individual is suspected, it is easy to single him out and bring him to book.
Integration between European nationalities and the Arabs who are immigrants is crucial in dealing with the vice. All people should be treated equally are those who are marginalized be empowered to participate actively in nation building activities.
The government should also establish laws, which recognize the rights of every person. This will help in cultivating the confidence of immigrants to feel that they are appreciated. When there exist divisions among citizens of a country, terrorists are likely to find their way in by promising the marginalized goodies which will make them engage in violent activities. Civic education can also help in enlisting citizens on the need to keep the society safe[13].
Before European countries engages in fighting of terror groups in the middle east, it is imperative for these countries to examine the underlying factors that caused the war so as to avoid creating unnecessary enmity on cases where some individuals want to pursue personal agendas so as to ascend to power.
Rationale of the research
Terrorism is a biting global phenomenon and that all countries have to join hands in fighting terror. However, there are very studies, which have been carried on terrorism and terror groups. This posed a challenge to scholars and governments to heavily invest in this new form of aggression. Scanty information on organization of various terror groups makes it hard for countries to deal with the problem as one can only generate solutions to a problem when he has the necessary information.
I would like to propose that those people who engage in research on terrorism have to be to be adequate funds and security so as to limit any interference from terror groups that may compromise the study. This is because some of this terror groups have advance communication and financial machinery, which they can use to stop any inquiries made on their operations.
Terrorism in Europe-Annotated bibliography
Bossong, R. (2012).The evolution of EU counter-Terrorism: European Security Policy after 9/11
.New York: Routledge.
This book talks about the interventions that European union put in place after America was attacked by AL Qaeda in 11th September 2001.The member states developed stringent measures which proposed thorough scrutiny of all people coming to Europe.
Charvat, J.P.I.A (2012). Homeland Security Organization against Terrorism.Chicago: IOS Press.
The book talks about measures that the US government has established to promote homeland security. The policy requires every person should know his neighbor so as to combat terrorism at the community level.
Rabasa, A. and Cheryl, B (2014).Eurojihad.London: Cambridge University Press.
This book talks about rising cases of terrorism in Europe. The authors have put into perspective some of the factors that have fueled the rise of terror related activities and radicalization in Europe
Randal, L. (2009). Terrorism: A History.London: Polity.
The book talks about how terrorism started in the world and how animosity between Arab states and European countries started. Imperialism and the capitalistic ideology of European countries has been at the centre of this conflict.
References
Bossong, R. (2012).The evolution of EU counter-Terrorism: European Security Policy after 9/11
.New York: Routledge.
Charvat, J.P.I.A (2012). Homeland Security Organization against Terrorism.Chicago: IOS Press.
Rabasa, A. and Cheryl, B (2014).Eurojihad.London: Cambridge University Press.
Randal, L. (2009). Terrorism: A History.London: Polity
[1] Bossong, R. (2012).The evolution of EU counter-Terrorism: European Security Policy after 9/11 New York: Routledge.
[2] Charvat, J.P.I.A (2012). Homeland Security Organization against Terrorism.Chicago: IOS Press.
[3] Randal, L. (2009). Terrorism: A History.London: Polity.
[4] Charvat, J.P.I.A (2012). Homeland Security Organization against Terrorism.Chicago: IOS Press.
[5] Randal, L. (2009). Terrorism: A History.London: Polity
[6] Bossong, R. (2012).The evolution of EU counter-Terrorism: European Security Policy after 9/11 New York: Routledge.
[7] Rabasa, A. and Cheryl, B (2014).Eurojihad.London: Cambridge University Press.
[8] Randal, L. (2009). Terrorism: A History.London: Polity
[9] Charvat, J.P.I.A (2012). Homeland Security Organization against Terrorism.Chicago: IOS Press.
[10] Randal, L. (2009). Terrorism: A History.London: Polity
[11] Rabasa, A. and Cheryl, B (2014).Eurojihad.London: Cambridge University Press.[12] Charvat, J.P.I.A (2012). Homeland Security Organization against Terrorism.Chicago: IOS Press. [13] Randal, L. (2009). Terrorism: A History.London: Polity