Understanding the Ideological Motivation: Causes and Effects of Terrorism
Introduction
Terrorism is and has been a complex and challenging subject of study, which constantly evolves and will always present us with new challenges that require new ways of understanding them. However similar its aims and objectives have been throughout history, terrorism has had a foundation built on a particular mode of viewing the social reality or, better said, had constructed a distorted one which permitted that. This distortion that has the power to give birth to terrorist acts can be called ideology.
By no means synonymous with terrorism, ideology is a tool capable of serving many objectives, has been able to shape the perception of the masses, change the set of values and moralities of individuals, and even act as a mask for the justification of some of the worst atrocities committed by humans against other humans. How is it that through the influence and illusion of a given ideological fantasy, people can begin to understand their social reality in such a different way that even when seeing its disastrous effects, no feelings of remorse are present, but rather a sense of celebration and praise? One way to describe ideological fantasy is “a matter of discordance between what people are effectively doing and what they think they are doing – (…), a false representation of the social reality to which they belong” (Žižek, 2008, p.27).
Looking at terrorism through the ideological lens and shed light on the connection between its different manifestations, what motivates these acts, and what causes them, all deeply rooted in ideology. What does the manifestation of terrorist behaviour have in common with the reason that caused it, and why do these manifestations take the form of terrorism? What is behind these ideologies that motivate terrorist acts, and is there more to explore beneath the surface, or is it nothing more than the chaotic minds of troubled individuals? These are some of the questions this essay will examine, as well as explain the differences between the terms encountered and show how ideology is the key to understanding the causes of terrorism and how it can act as a catalyst for the violence it produces.
