Introduction
Terrorism activities are spread all over the world. People from various parts of the globe throw bombs and other war devices towards innocent citizens claiming one reason or the other. Terrorism is defined as violent actions that are aimed at instilling fear to people as a means of coercing them to submit to ideologies of a certain group. Though people have argued that terrorism is thriving nowadays because morality, religion and social order have failed, some feel there is more than just that. It should be noted that terrorist attacks do not take into account the welfare of non-combatants and are carried out due to political, social or economical reasons.
Political Causes
Many people feel that they are being oppressed by their governments and that it is their duty to extricate themselves from the repressive regimes. Using labeling theory, it can be noted that some people want to be identified as the ones who liberated the country. As a result, these people will use terrorism to compel other citizens to stop cooperating with the government. The labeling theory further explains that this group considers it an achievement when they are identified as terrorists. This is the kind of terrorism that took place in 2001 in the United States.
Social Causes
Arguably, this is the main cause of terrorism in the world. The neutralizing theory outlines that criminals use various reasons to validate their actions. In this regard, terrorists have been known to use religious teachings in justifying their atrocities. There are those people who believe that their religion is the most upright one. These people would want every other person to accept their definition and opinion about religion. They divide people into we and them where “we” are those who agree with their ideologies and “them” refers to the rest of the people. However, it is important to note that these people do not represent the beliefs of their religion per se, but rather an interpretation of a certain group about religion. On the other hand, differential association theory states that there are people who just join terrorist groups because they will want to be associated with certain people. To these group of people, social solidarity is far much important than anything else.
Economic Reasons
Economic empowerment has been the cause of resistance since time immemorial. Communists and people who subscribe to Karl Marx’s ideas believe that rich people or governments oppress the poor ones. Therefore, they believe that there is nothing to loose by joining resistance groups. On the contrary, they have a common consensus that they have everything to gain if they fight for their rights. Just as outlined by the self-control theory, people who lack self control easily join the terrorist groups. It is important to note that the availability of old weapons in developing countries, which are easily acquired, has contributed to terrorism. On the same note, rewarding of perpetrators of terrorism by the terrorist groups highly influences terrorism. As depicted by social learning theory, increase in crime rewards leads to increase in criminal activities.
Conclusion
Terrorism is a reality that has to be faced by every nation. Nowadays, it not only occurs in specific nation as it used to be, but rather in the whole world. In fact, terrorism has become very dynamic nowadays and no single explanation can be used to explain it. Gone are the days when it was associated majorly with religion. Consequently, the society should be prepared to address this issue for it is increasingly becoming common.