Terrorism is defined in many ways but the most common are the intentional use of violence as a means of creating fear or terror of fulfilling a political or religious ideology. Prior understanding of terrorism had different nations and governments understand that terrorism could only be committed by non-state actors or undercover personnel who are serving the interests of their respective masters or governments. Recent times have seen acts of terrorism being committed by nationals on their own soils against their government which they claim commit unjust actions. According to Levitt (2013), it is important thought to distinguish terrorism from other forms of violence in that terrorism has political motives; it is designed to have far reaching consequences beyond the intended target, and it is conducted by an organization that has a given chain of command, an individual or cell structure who are inspired by their ideological.
There are several typologies to terrorism. Levitt (2013) defines state terrorism as an act of terrorism that is perpetrated by one state against a foreign nation or even its own people. Aristotle in his many writings touched on the topic of terror being used by tyrants against their subjects. State sponsored terrorism happens when a government shows its support for violence by foreign states or nations. Examples are given of countries such as Iran which has been accused of funding and training the Hezbollah, a group associated with several acts of terror in the Middle East and the gulf region. Based on Levitt (2013) argument, compared to state terrorism, state enabled terrorism is a bit more passive. Levitt (2013) further argued that a host country allows terrorist groups or individuals that live within their borders and they are only allowed to do so as long as they do not direct their violence on the citizens or the government of their hosts.
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According to Wright (2007), most of the countries of the world follow a capitalist system of government. Many of the firms are privatized and this does not sit well with all the residents. When such discontent occurs among residents then it breeds movements of left wing terrorism which are meant to overthrow capitalist systems. Wright (2007) stated that the ideologies followed by these terrorist groups are influenced by Marxists views who seek to have communists or socialist system of governance. It differs from right wing terrorism which has a variety of ideologies and beliefs such as anti-communism, hostility to abortion and so forth .
Wright (2007) found that the modern right wing terrorist has the aim to overthrow existing governments and have them replaced with fascist oriented governments. They have the understanding that a state needs to rid itself of any foreign elements as a way of protecting what they understand to be the rightful citizens. The United States has had incidents of right wing terrorism most of which was conducted in the reconstruction era against the minority groups (Wright, 2007). There have been more violent attacks organized by right wing groups especially since the September 11 attacks such as the San Berdino shooting as well as the Orlando nightclub shooting in 2016. In adition, Wright (2007) revealed that the right wing tacks have also targeted institutions such as Planned Parenthood, Black Community Churches, Jewish community center, and even a Sikh temple in 2012 where six people were killed.
Based on the research that was conducted by Levitt in 2013, one of the countries that have been accused of being a state sponsor of terrorism by the United States is Iran. The study by Levitt (2013) further revealed that after the Iranian uprising in 1979, the régime of Iran has been blamed by members of the global community and the United States declared Iran as an active state sponsor of terrorism funding organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas which have caused suffering in Lebanon, Israel, India, and even Palestine . The United States imposed restrictions against Iran after the revolt of 1979 where the American embassy was stormed and they held American employees for over 444 days. The embargo placed on Iran during this siege was later revised in 2011 when the State Department released a worldwide terrorism report in which Iran was still considered an active sponsor of terrorism. Iran has sustained provision of financial, material and logistical support for terrorist and militant groups. According to Cordesman, Gold and Coughlin-Schulte (2014), the sanctions placed by the United States include blocking the transfer of weapons, technology, and the development of nuclear and missile programs. The American senate proposed a bill in 2015 with the intention of toughening a bill that would reinforce the restrictions on Iran if the global community does not reach a settlement regarding the nuclear weapon production in Tehran.
Based on Cordesman, Gold and Coughlin-Schulte (2014) definition, a failed state is the one in which the political and the economic system has become weak in it governance that the government has lost control. Cordesman and his colleagues (2014) argue that Iran cannot be described as a failed state even as it remains an enemy of the United States. The country continues to have hegemonic ambition as a move that threatens the peace and stability of the Middle East but even as this holds, the country has a solid government that is on hand to maintain law and order among the citizens. Failed states are those whose governments have no legitimate claim of authority and are unable to make decisions regarding state matters.
According to Cordesman, Gold and Coughlin-Schulte (2014), the four waves of terrorism include anarchism, anti-colonial, left radicalism, and religious terrorism. Under this, the acts performed by Iran in association with a terrorist organization such as Hezbollah are placed under religious acts where they believe the western world is tarnishing and corrupting the morality of the world (Cordesman, Gold and Coughlin-Schulte, 2014). They view acts of terror as a necessity as a means to defend their lands and their faith. The acts performed by these organizations include suicide bombings, and symbolic targets.
References
Cordesman, A. H., Gold, B., Coughlin-Schulte, C. (2014) Iran: Sanctions, Energy, Arms Control, and Regime Change. Rowman & Littlefield.
Levitt, M. (2013) Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon's Party of God. Georgetown University Press.
Wright, S. (2007) The United States and Persian Gulf Security: The Foundations of the War on Terror . Ithaca Press.
