Terrorism: Terrorism And The Causes Of Terrorism

On September 11, 2001, a tragedy struck our country. A terrorist group known as Al-Qaeda hijacked four planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center, The Pentagon, and an open field. Thousands of people lost their lives. Before the September 11th attacks the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) main priority was to protect the United States from foreign intelligence and espionage. Since then, the FBI has made preventing terrorism its number one priority (Federal Bureau of Investigation). In order to effectively prevent terrorism, the factors that cause it must be known. After extensive research, the causes of terrorism can be attributed to religion, economic deprivation, and globalization.

Religion is one of the key factors that influence

According to Krieger and Meierrieks (2010), economic deprivation includes but is not limited to poverty, inequality, and unemployment. Poor structural economic conditions create frustration which makes violence more likely in an area (Gurr, 1970). People who live in impoverished areas are more likely to become violent towards areas that have a more stable economic structure. This is confirmed in a study conducted by Ted Gurr (1970) who determined that modern wealthy states are less violent than poor developing countries. Areas where people are not economically stable and are frustrated are breeding grounds for terrorism. This phenomenon is because it is easier for terrorist to recruit and swat people who are already unhappy with their living situations as well as their countries economic situation (Krieger and Meierrieks,

They do this because they believe it will attract attention to their grievances and it will encourage empathy for their unjust situation (Global Focus). Data collected by the Department of State showed that in 2012 there were a total of about 6,700 terrorist attacks worldwide. Further research conducted by the Department of State showed that the majority of the attacks occurred in Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These are areas that are developing countries that struggle from disparities such as poverty and inequality. In addition, the Department of State stated that these reported terrorist attacks were aimed at attaining an economic or religious goal. The Department of State conducted further research and found that the terrorist groups that committed the most attacks were the Taliban, Boko Haram, and Al-Qaeda/ ISIS. These terrorist groups were bred in impoverished parts of the world and accounted for approximately 16% of all terrorist attacks committed in 2012 (Department of State). Based on the evidence presented it is clear that economic deprivation and terrorism have a correlation.

The third cause of terrorism is a result of globalization. Globalization is the trend toward countries joining together economically, through education, society and politics (Merriam Webster). Globalization creates terrorism by creating conflicts between different Muslim groups and by creating a sense that Muslim