The Replication of Violence: Thoughts on International Terrorism after September 11th 2001
Suman Gupta
Language: English
Pages: 142
ISBN: B012HV2ITA
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
An immense amount of media space has been devoted to the catastrophic terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. George Bush was quick to declare a 'war on terrorism' that may engulf many countries in addition to Afghanistan. But what does this say about Western perceptions of violence -- what does 'war on terrorism' mean?This book does not attempt to explain the momentous events of September 11th 2001. Instead it attempts to sharpen our understanding of what phrases such as 'international terrorism' and 'the war against terror' have come to mean since that date. Taking on the issues from a philosophical standpoint, Gupta observes that it has long been difficult to define what constitutes a 'terrorist act'. He explains how the events of last year have jolted even existing understandings in unexpected ways and, importantly, why this difficulty of definition persists. Examining how acts of terrorism and counter-terrorist measures are portrayed in the Western media and the impact this has on public perception, this thoughtful and provocative account provides a refreshing counterpoint to the sensationalised and often over-simplified reporting in the mainstream media.
The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
Munich 1972: Tragedy, Terror, and Triumph at the Olympic Games
Terrorists Creed: Fanatical Violence and the Human Need for Meaning
freedom and democracy itself against fanaticism and terrorism itself (Bush, Blair and many others); and (with a pinch of mindless xenophobia thrown in) the Western world, with its Christian roots, against the uncivilised Islamic world, a ‘clash of civilisations’ no less (Italian Premier Berlusconi said that amidst moderate shock and disbelief, but Bush had already implied it with his ‘crusade’). The only certainty in this act of terrorist communication was its ‘instrumental target’, that which
governments that would aid and abet America’s response to the attacks. Bush and leaders in Europe (especially Britain) were unanimous in their conviction that these terrorist attacks were a direct challenge to the ‘free’, democratic, ‘civilised’ world and ‘American values’. Almost all the significant countries of the world endorsed, at least in principle, the United States’s declaration of ‘war against international terrorism’. Though it wasn’t immediately clear what ‘war against international
of equivalence had been received: in the following months every suspicious death, every unpredictable act of violence in the United States – a mad man trying to kill a bus driver, another deranged person trying to storm the cockpit of an aeroplane – was immediately assumed to be another terrorist attack; people stepped into aeroplanes with trepidation and preferred not to if it could be avoided. There clearly existed an enemy capable of large-scale impact, and an enemy which had established
Guided by our findings about political violence and systems, we can conclude about political violence that it breaks the rule of democracy that electors and candidates are not to be coerced, and also the rule that each citizen is to have one vote, where that is understood to require equal participation in a fundamental procedure which gives rise to political decisions. Violence may be said to break the latter rule because the relative efficiency of the procedures is reduced. Thirdly, violence may
tool. Second, the flow of information may expose societies to information that will inspire and justify an individual’s or group’s use of violence. Third, by providing information concerning specific terrorist tactics and strategies, the international communications system has often supplied discontented groups sufficient technological knowledge and ideological justification to support their use of terrorism. Fourth, the flow of information resulting from a successful terrorist attack may provide
