Title: Why do People Join or Support Terrorist Groups? | GEOG 571: Cultural Intelligence
Headings: Why do People Join or Support Terrorist Groups?
Why do People Join or Support Terrorist Groups?
Content: Often, the members of radical groups are people who have been unable to achieve their own political goals through legitimate means and, therefore, believe they must employ terror. In some cases, people join terrorist groups because they see their own situation as hopeless. From their perspective, they have no future inside the dominant system. Therefore, they are willing to risk their lives in order to change the system into something that offers hope to them. They reason that if they fail, they might as well be dead in any case, and, if they succeed, they will have created a better world for everyone. Revenge is probably one of the most powerful motives for terrorism. In the Middle East, in particular, it is necessary to avenge even an insult to fellow clan members by an outsider. Therefore, when NATO soldiers break into a house in the middle of the night in an attempt to arrest someone, they risk insulting every member of the family that lives in that house. For a man not to seek revenge would brand him as a coward. Therefore, in order to mitigate the recruiting capabilities of terrorist organizations, those who fight against terror must learn to avoid tactics, techniques, and procedures that drive people into the arms of waiting terrorist organizations (SOURCES: