• Home
• Articles
• Essays
• Add site

Sociological Aspects of Violence

Sociological Aspects of Violence


Introduction

Violence continues to pose a significant challenge to the general well being of the society as well as threatening peaceful co-existence between people of the world. Violence can be defined as any form of aggressive conduct that is intended to cause injury or that actually cause injury to a person or people. There are different forms of violence like interpersonal, domestic violence, which are usually of a smaller scale, and co-ordinated violence that could be a global phenomenon. There is also sanctioned violence for instance government led war and unsanctioned violence that includes terrorism and revolutions. This article examines terrorism with the view of understanding the causes and effects of this menace as well as analyse the implications of this form of violence that threatens global peace.


Terrorism

Terrorism is a form of violence that is usually instigated by persons or illegal groups and is aimed at eliciting fear or terror among peoples in a community (Allport, W.G. 1979). Kressel, N. J. (2002) asserts that acts of terrorism are aimed at getting the attention of political institutions and governments in varied parts of the world.
Terrorism and terroristic attacks are usually aimed against civilians and most of the times the civilian are innocent of any involvement in any dispute that would warrant then kind of violence against them. The acts are indiscriminate and immoral. Terrorism has in the recent years resulted in loss of many lives. According to Allport, W.G. (1979). terrorism is an act of desperation by people who do not see any other way of achieving their way. Ideological differences contribute significantly to terrorism with people adopting a stance that is uncompromising and intolerant. For instance religious beliefs have been associated with tendency to some acts of violence that amount to terrorism.
Another cause of terrorism is when persons or group feel that their rights are being violated. This violation of rights may be economical or political where some people become disgruntled with the state of affairs and wish to change this by means of intimidating and threatening the existing government. The Al Quaidas are good examples of how perceived violation of rights can sow seeds of terrorism. The third cause of terrorism is religious fanatism where people may feel hatred for people who do not profess the same faith as them. This religious fanatism has been the cause of many terrorist attacks from middle 15th century to date. Another cause of terrorism is jealousy among countries where one country does very well and another does not and some members of that community become disgruntled blaming the other country for their not doing equally well.
However a major cause of terrorism is in the sharing of resources when it becomes impossible to come to an agreement on how to share some scarce resource like land. If one power or political institution is in a better position to utilize and tap benefits of a resource that has a traditional dispute, then the people of the weaker country may feel helpless and result in terroristic acts in order to also get an opportunity to enjoy benefits accruing from this resource. In Latin American, terrorism has mainly been as a result of class difference. There exist two classes of very wealthy Latin Americans and very poor ones. This has been as a result of political oppression and lack of democracy. As a result, Terrorist insurgency has been characteristic of most Latin American nations (Carter, A. et al 1998).


Implications of terrorism

Financial Implication

One of the goals of terrorism is to create an atmosphere of fear as well as attract attention (Matthew Silberman (2002). This is why groups claiming responsibility follow some of the terrorism acts. In recent years the perpetrators of terrorism have succeeded in creating an atmosphere of fear in all nations of the world. This has resulted in huge budgets to ensure maximum caution due to the effects on international travel and tourism industry the financial sacrifice is enormous.

Analysis

Terrorism as a form of violence is a deviant means of expression that is used by persons or groups who feel they have no other means of expressing their wishes. It is also a selfish way of forcing one’s ideals on other people as exemplified by the religious extremists especially the Muslim fundamentalists who wish to establish Islamic states through the use of force including Jihad (Holy War). Terrorism as a means of achieving global attention is also in common use today.

The September 11th attack against the US by the Al-Quaidas network is a good example of this point. Terrorism has served to create an atmosphere of fear and suspicion where non-existed previously. Terrorism has made the world an unsafe place for all of us not to mention its effects on international travel and tourism. It has major financial implications that transcend the increased security and defensive budgets. Terrorism has also increased suspicion especially on the Muslims of the world. This in turn increases segregation and discrimination. The result is even unfriendlier co-existence as well as limited interactions between the peoples of the world.

The intended aim of terrorism is to intimidate and coerce societies or political institutions and governments as well as other humanitarian organizations to give into some demands that may or may not biological and chemical weapons in terrorism has raised global concerns. There are several limitations to existing strategies to counter terrorism. Some of these include the financial factor where many poor nations that have been victims and remain vulnerable to terrorism such as Kenya in East Africa and other African countries for instance do not have the capacity to launch effective defenses against terrorists. Terrorism remains a security challenge for the entire world. Terrorists strike indiscriminately and do not feel anything about the wanton destruction of life and property suicide bombers do not care for their lives more so because most attach religious importance to the act.





References

Allport, W.G. (1979). The Nature of Prejudice.Cambridge-Addison Wesley
Carter, A. Deutch, J and Zelikow, P (1998). Combating Catastrophic Terrorism. "Foreign
Affairs" 76,82.
Kressel, N. J. (2002) Mass Hate: The Global Rise of Genocide and Terror. Westview Press,
Matthew Silberman (2002). Violence and Society. 1st ed. Prentice Hall, London.
9133

Posted by: Andrew Blanks

Best Custom Writing Sites

Sites that provide custom writing services are better alternative to downloading pre-written paper samples, especially if you temporarily can't handle writing your own paper for some reason, and can not afford risking your course and reputation for plagiarism detection failure. The prices for custom written essays are affordable, but if you need 15-pages long master level report overnight, you better prepare to spend a noticeable sum.