The most important issue that faces terrorism is the lack of proper definition. There is no one definition of terrorism that is accepted. Each country and organisation have a different definition of terrorism. For example, FBI defines terrorism as a ‘criminal violent activity’, South Africa defines terrorism as an “ incident of violence, or the threat thereof, against a person, a group of persons or property not necessarily related to the aim of the incident, to coerce a government or civil population to act or not to act according to certain principles.” There are several implications due to the absence of a universal definition of terrorism which are wide-ranging.
The lack of definition can lead to the politicisation of issues that are not terrorism-related and, in some cases, not even criminal activities. The lack of definition of terrorism helps individual governments to outlaw activity which they choose to classify as terrorism, perhaps for their own political convenience. The US administration of former President Bush used terrorism to conjure in the public mind connections between the 9/11 destruction of the World Trade Centre and the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein. The vocabulary of terrorism has therefore become the successor to that of anarchy and communism as the catch-all label of opprobrium, exploited accordingly by media and politicians.
There are various ways in which terrorism impacts a country. Acts of terrorism can be used to destabilise governments, jeopardise peace and security and may have negative consequences for certain groups and communities. Terrorist activities, in fact, are a direct threat to the enjoyment of fundamental human rights. There are arguments that believe that terrorist activities are driven by poverty and people who get trapped in such activities are usually from the lower-socio economic background. An example of this can be the 26/11 attacks that took place in Mumbai, where most people who participated in the attacks were economically backward. However, this notion is not always true as terrorist organisations have various funding sources to finance their activities. Instances of this can be seen in recent times where terrorist organisations like the ISIL finance terrorist acts by selling smuggled oil within Syria and Turkey as well as indulging in organized crimes in its territories.
The terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka that killed more than 250 people were also carried out by affluent and well-educated people. Media plays an important role in spreading the ideologies of the terrorists and inciting fear in the minds of general masses. Media is known for pitting one religious’ group against another and this leads to the fulfilment of the terrorist groups' objectives. While the media has a responsibility to report such major events, there is a need to do the reporting in a responsible way. The media are attracted by extreme terrorist acts not only because it is their duty to report on any major event but also because of the dramatic and spectacular aspect of terrorism fascinates the public. However, this can also backfire and help the terrorists unknowingly. For example, during the attacks which took place in Mumbai, media reporters were known to violate media ethics. In fact, the irresponsible reporting led to revealing operational details which alerted the terrorists.
The technological advancements have also played an important role in creating conditions for terrorism to thrive. Technology has as much potential to exacerbate as it does to mitigate the risks of terrorism. For example, the perpetrator of Halle synagogue shooting used 3-D-printed plastic components to create the weapon which evaded security. Similarly, The Islamic State has relied on messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp to coordinate with a team of suicide bombers.
