Terrorism is fast becoming an issue of great concern not only in Western countries and the Middle East but also in the developing world, including countries in Africa. In response, stakeholders from across the globe have developed, adopted, and implemented a wide range of strategies with the sole purpose of countering terrorist activities, while at the same time, undoing the harm associated with terrorist organizations. Equally important, the efforts in question require players to gain a deeper understanding of what constitutes different forms of local, national, and international terrorism as a way of increasing their effectiveness.
Although none of the various definitions are universally accepted, domestic terrorism refers to acts of violence meted to the infrastructure, as well as the civilian population of a given nation by a citizen of that same country. The primary mission of domestic terrorists involves intimidating, influencing, and coercing national policy (Bjelopera, 2017). On the other hand, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI, 2020), international terrorism comprises different forms of violent, criminal acts attributed to an individual or a group of people, who are either associated with a designated foreign terrorist country or organization. Consequently, this paper identifies and briefly describes the motivations, tactics, ideologies, as well as goals of different terrorist groups, including the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an international terror group, and Boko Haram, a domestic terrorist group in Nigeria.
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Comparison: Motivations, Tactics, and Ideologies
Established in 1978, the PKK is one of the international terrorist organizations with a widespread presence in present-day Turkey. However, the PKK’s members mainly reside in northern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, northern Syria, and different parts of Iran (Marcus, 2007). The terrorist organization in question acts or uses the name Kurds because the terrorist organization’s main goal is to establish and maintain an independent or sovereign Kurdistan state. The PKK founders and members remain motivated by the assumption that individual Kurds, including their ethnic identity, are being oppressed by the Turkish Republic (Kim & Ritchie, 2010). Kurds argue that the Turkish government has and continues to deny them the opportunity to access and enjoy equal opportunities as other ethnic communities in the country and beyond. Although the government has made tireless attempts toward ensuring Kurds’ development, including cultural rights, the PKK has sworn to place more focus on fighting for public education, autonomy, as well as economic production.
Boko Haram, one of the dangerous Islamic Jihadist terrorist groups, was founded in 1955 in Nigeria. According to Smith et al. (2011), Boko Haram’s main ideology revolves around violent rejection and active oppression of ideologies or teachings its members consider to be un-Islamic. During its formation, the domestic terrorist organization had one mission: uniting Muslims in Nigeria as a way of assuming the country’s political leadership. To ascend to power and rule Nigeria, Boko Haram’s main propaganda tools comprise terrorist campaigns and different forms of violence. In this respect, both Boko Haram and the PKK share a common objective: the achievement and maintenance of autonomy from what they perceive to be oppressive regimes (Kim & Ritchie, 2010). Another of the similarities between the PKK and Boko Haram is that both terrorist groups identify with religiously-motivated terrorism (RMT) (Gregg, 2014). In other words, both terror organizations are focused on the creation of Islamic governments by recruiting, training, and deploying suicide bombers tasked with the responsibility of attacking, maiming, and killing their targets.
Boko Haram takes a traditional or conservative approach to translate the Quran. In particular, the terrorist organization remains motivated by everything they consider western, modern, and scientific in nature (Smith et al., 2014). Given Boko Haram’s hate-driven ideology, the terrorist organization operates not only as a separatist but also as an ethnic-nationalist terror group. With the anti-western framework for its activities, Boko Haram relies on violence as stated earlier to convey each of its nationalist messages. Through Boko Haram’s violent extremism, the terrorist organization focuses on marginalizing ethnic groups and systems or groups opposed to its ideology. Like the PKK, some of the violent tactics adopted and used by Boko Haram include hunger strikes, attacks by bombing public places, and strategic government buildings, such as embassies, hostage-taking, as well as the assassination of political or public figures (Gregg, 2014). The main difference between the PKK and Boko Haram is that the former is an international terrorist organization founded in Turkey, while the latter is a domestic terror group in Nigeria. Concisely, both terrorist groups utilize coercion and violence to spread fear as a way of attaining political and ideological goals.
Conclusion and Threat to the U.S.
The PKK and Boko Haram serve as an existing and potential threat to the United States because of the terrorist organizations’ continued expansion, as well as ever-changing targets and tactics. In particular, these terror groups are investing in the formation of new alliances at the domestic and international levels. For instance, recent reports have revealed that Boko Haram collaborates with Al-Shabaab, which attacks U.S. forces and allies in Somalia, Kenya, and beyond (Smith et al., 2014). Additionally, Boko Haram attacked the United Nations headquarters based in Nigeria in 2011, causing the death of up to 23 people (Smith et al., 2014). On the same note, recent security reports have shown that Boko Haram is most likely to target energy sectors and American diplomats. Ultimately, by targeting and attacking non-Nigerian entities and individuals, Boko Haram is one of the potential threats to the U.S. and its interests, especially the complicated war on terrorism.
References
Bjelopera, J. (2017). Domestic terrorism: An overview. CRS Report . Retrieved Jan. 28, 2020 from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/R44921.pdf
FBI. (2020). Terrorism . Retrieved Jan. 28, 2020 from https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism
Gregg, H. (2014). Defining and distinguishing secular and religious terrorism. Perspectives on Terrorism, 8 (2), 36-51.
Kim, J. & Ritchie, B. (2010). Motivation-based typology. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 36 (2), 251-280.
Marcus, A. (2007). Blood and belief: The PKK and the Kurdish fight for independence . NYU Press, USA.
Smith, M., et al. (2011). Boko Haram: Emerging threat to the U.S. homeland. 112th Congress, 1st Session . Retrieved Jan. 27, 2019 from https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CPRT-112HPRT71725/pdf/CPRT-112HPRT71725.pdf
