WORLD VIOLENCE

Has the world become more (or less) violent in the current century



Has the world become more (or less) violent in the current century

Introduction:

In the early 1970's, a unique clash of political circumstances and technological advancements gave birth to a new era where groups were hijacking, kidnapping officials and diplomats, and announcing themselves with bombings. Air travel methods gave terrorists worldwide access and the development of television, and communication satellites projected them to a global audience. Experts accurately predicted that there would be a rise of hostile, fundamentalist religious groups and sects both in the United States and abroad. They predicted that terrorist growth would be steady, and that there would be increasing use of military force in response to terrorism (Jenkins, 2001).

War against terrorism has not totally gone in vain; in fact efforts are being made to reduce war killings and terrorism to minimum levels. International cooperation has increased, and new antiterrorist laws have been implemented in the world. Hijackings and Embassy takeovers, being traditional methods, are occurring far less frequently today than before. However, the objectives driving terrorism have changed from ideologies to ethnic conflict and religious extremism. This has ultimately given way to a group of terrorists least bothered by the fears of separating from their constituents or causing harm to the citizens. In the 1990's, less attention was paid to what might cause terrorism and instead focused on its inhibition, improving intelligence mechanisms, increasing overall security, identifying effective anti-terrorist methods, and applying innovative technology.

Discussion:

The study of Terrorism has undergone considerable speculations ever since 9/11 struck the world in 2001, causing misery and mishaps to millions of people. This gave rise to several discussions across the world about whether to pronounce the current century as “Most Violent”. Various sociologists, political scientists, economists, psychologists have given their own explanations as to what are the major driving forces behind violence, especially in the current century. Terrorism since old times is the use of sheer violence against civilians and is pulled off by non-state actors with the intention of achieving political gains. The study of terrorism is truly a multidisciplinary attempt while the world news reports of organized conflicts, terrorism, murders, ransom kidnappings, bombings, political frauds and other examples of the rulers forcing their will on the weak masses, have become the background noise of what is called modern day civilization.

Terrorism was used as a central strategy for gaining power within several political movements during the 20th century and studies show it would be a practice in futures to come. Groups aiming to achieve power in history, widely implemented measures that led the world to a crisis and people began to suffer abundantly. In the mid-19th and early-20th centuries, a political movement known as “anarchism” became popular that greatly promoted the end of all forms of government, proving them naturally unequal. Some anarchists rejected the use of more traditional means of political expression; rather they used violent actions to demonstrate by ...