For your final paper, review the various terrorist groups, causes, and motivators of terrorism examined throughout the course. Be sure to read Max Fisher’s article “Terrorist or Disturbed Loner? The Contentious Politics of a Label” (2017). Select one of the three options below to set the stage for how the U.S. should confront terrorism in the future, and evaluate your selected options according to the criteria at bottom.
• The effect of polarization of American politics. Assess how the polarization of American politics creates new threats of domestic terror in the U.S. from white nationalists, anarchists, extreme environmentalists, and radicalized citizens of Middle Eastern heritage. Watch the required video The American Face of Terror: Political and Security Realities, where a moderated panel discusses various views of the effects of politics and terrorism from a U.S. perspective and a terrorist perspective. They explore the issues and complexity of politics and terrorism and address the issue from military intervention to ideology, and from domestic to international perspectives.
• Terrorism end stages. There are several examples of governments and terrorist organizations ending hostilities, resulting in a normalization of relations between them. Some examples include the Irish Republican Army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), or the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka. Research several terrorist groups and determine how hostilities ended.
• Terrorism or criminal act. There is considerable debate on whether an event should be labeled a terrorist attack or if it is just a criminal act by a disturbed individual. With the lone wolf attacks in England, France, and the U.S., the lines between criminal and terrorist are blurred. Max Fisher’s article “Terrorist or Disturbed Loner? The Contentious Politics of a Label (Links to an external site.)” (2017) lays out several interesting arguments that can be traced back to defining terrorism and how we respond to events. Read the article and open and review the readers’ comments to better understand the issues surrounding labeling an incident as either a terrorist act or a criminal act.
After you have selected one of the three scenarios listed above, select an international or domestic terrorist group or movement that is active today and a threat to U.S. interests either at home or overseas.
In your paper,
• Summarize various strategies the U.S. can use to respond to or prevent terrorist attacks by your chosen group.
• Assess the potential effectiveness of
o Normal police response to criminal action.
o More comprehensive socioeconomic strategies.
o Military action.
• Appraise if additional police powers or legislative measures are needed by the federal government to protect the country from terrorist threats.
• Evaluate if increasing governmental powers to enhance security is worth the potential erosion of civil liberties.