International Pol Exam 2 Week 10

Front 1

Uncivil Society

Back 1

-Criminals: $$$,
-Terrorists: political agenda; narrow support base, weak actor.
-Insurgents: political agenda; wider support, actually able to wage open warfare.

Front 2

Why No Agreement?

Back 2

-Strong negative moral context.
-Terrorists are people we don’t like.
-Former terrorists write their own histories.
-Hitler Own political pasts.

Front 3

so what is terrorism?

Back 3

-Violence
-Non-state actor
-Political objective
-Willingness/desire to kill people
-Small movement
-Psychological, not physical, effects of violence predominate.

Front 4

Causes of terrorism

Back 4

-Preconditions: political characteristics of a state that make terrorism possible, even promote terrorism. A necessary, but not a sufficient, condition.
-Precipitants: what actually turns individuals into terrorists, the “last straw”..

Front 5

Preconditions

Back 5

-Weak/failing state.
-Lack of political and/or economic opportunities.
-Social facilitation
-Globalization and modernization/urbanization.

Front 6

What is a “weak state”?

Back 6

-Loss of monopoly on killing.
-Lack of services
-Lack of infrastructure
-Lack of legitimacy
-Absence of public goods

Front 7

Why does state weakness facilitate/encourage/provoke terrorism?

Back 7

-Power vacuum.
-Weak enforcement
-Need for security
-Not gonna get caught.
-Corruption
-Despised leaders

Front 8

What is Social Facilitation?

Back 8

-Terrorism is cool! –while growing up.
-Societal role models successfully using violence.
-Needed to assuage potentially guilty conscience.
-Needed to not scare away others.

Front 9

these are supposed to be good

Back 9

Urbanization: rising expectations of the state.
Modernization: loss of authority figures.

Front 10

You might be a terrorist mastermind, if…

Back 10

-Middle or upper middle class.
-Time to engage in extracurricular activities.
-Thwarted ambition.
-High level of education.
-Sense of drive.
-Physical courage.

Front 11

Effects of Violence

Back 11

# Affected by Terrorism: very few
# Affected by Gov’t Countermeasures: everyone

Front 12

Effects of Prolonged Violence

Back 12

-Gov’t: weak and ineffective. Exacerbates preconditions.
-The apathetic public: pissed at the state.

Front 13

Conventional War Objectives

Back 13

Ends: occupying territory!
Means: application of maximum violence.

Front 14

Insurgent Violence

Back 14

-Insurgent targets: vulnerable military targets.
-Goal of violence: psychological.

Front 15

Insurgency 101

Back 15

-Problem: a pro-US Iraqi/Afghan official.
-Objective: birth certificate cancellation.
-Quickest solution: DIY
-Correct solution: outsourcing

Front 16

Psychological Factor

Back 16

-Occupying army: siege
-Civilian population: fear of occupiers
-Own fighters: loyalty
-International Opinion: shifts to the insurgents.

Front 17

Algebraical Factor

Back 17

-Definition: enough occupying troops per territory.
-Limitations: not enough troops!

Front 18

Counter-Insurgency 101

Back 18

Successful COIN: large force, trained for COIN => civilian population friendly toward occupier => no safe haven.

Front 19

Attributes of a Failed State

Back 19

-Regional warlords
-No public goods
-No monopoly on violence.
-High level of ethnic conflict.

Front 20

Attributes of a Failed State

Back 20

-Anarchy
-Political violence
-Concern about relative gains
-Absence of civic nationalism
-Ethnic conflict

Front 21

Ethnic Conflict

Back 21

-Necessary Condition: ethnic diversity
-Sufficient Condition: state weakness

Front 22

Constructing a Nation

Back 22

-Civic Nationalism!
-Really statebuilding.
-Monopoly on Violence!
-Long-term process.