State-Sponsored Terrorism: Unveiling the Typologies, Impacts, and Motivations behind Covert Geopolitical Machinations
Author – Aysha Aazmy Moideen, Student at NUALS, Kochi
Best Citation – Aysha Aazmy Moideen, State-Sponsored Terrorism: Unveiling the Typologies, Impacts, and Motivations behind Covert Geopolitical Machinations, ILE MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL, 1 (1) of 2023, Pg. 55-59, ISBN – 978-81-961097-5-2
Abstract
A journalist was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by Saudi government agents;[1] an ex-Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury, allegedly by Russian intelligence agents[2]. These 2018 events are connected to an area that receives little to no attention in political discussions; state Terrorism[3]. What is Terrorism by the state? It is comparable to non-state Terrorism, which entails acts of violence committed against people or groups not involved in armed conflict but motivated by political, intellectual, or religious beliefs. The crucial distinction is that government agents are committing violence[4].
Despite the recent incidents, it is unquestionably not a new phenomenon. Although the contemporary form of Terrorism only emerged in the second half of the 19th century, there is a propensity to regard it as a current issue, partly due to the dominance of terrorism studies by particular academic disciplines[5]. This paper shall examine the different types of support the states provide, their motivations, the impact of such sponsorships, and the regimes that do not actively support Terrorism but allow it to fundraise and recruit.
Keywords: Criminal Jurisprudence, Criminal Law, National Security, Counter Terrorism, Human Rights Law.
[1] ALJAZEERA, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/26/timeline-of-the-murder-of-journalist-jamal khashoggi (last visited Oct 6, 2022).
[2] BBC, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43315636 (last visited Oct 6, 2022).
[3] Jackson, R., Knowledge, Power and Politics in the Study of Political Terrorism, In Jackson, R., Smyth, M.B. and Gunning, J. (eds.), Critical Terrorism Studies: A New Research Agenda, 66–83 (2009).
[4] Andrew Silke, State Terrorism, In Routledge Handbook of Terrorism and Counterterrorism 66, 66 (2018),https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328115901_Routledge_Handbook_Of_Terrorism_And_Counter terrorism.
[5] Module 1 INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM,
https://www.unodc.org/documents/e4j/18-04932_CT_Mod_01_ebook_FINALpdf.pdf (last visited Oct 12, 2022).