One of my recent posts talked about why I felt comfortable traveling internationally in Europe after a terrorist attack in France. Terrorism is a complex issue—it’s not as simple as people waging wars against each other over ideology. It’s more nuanced than that.
“Everyone Believes They Are the Good Guy”
I recently watched a fascinating short video featuring Former Undercover CIA Agent Amaryllis Fox, who spent years working in counterterrorism overseas. She made a powerful point:
“If I learned one lesson from my time with the CIA, it is this: Everyone believes they are the good guy.”
You can watch the video here: Amaryllis Fox on Terrorism. It’s only 3 minutes long, but it’s thought-provoking.
I don’t believe in justifying violence or terrorism. But I do believe that understanding why it happens is essential if we want to figure out how to prevent it. And that requires recognizing that everyone involved believes they are acting for a justified cause.
War vs. Terrorism: What’s the Difference?
War appears to be never-ending/ One of my most formative experiences was visiting the Manchester War Museum when I was 19. The thought that kept running through my head was: “It never ends, does it? Everywhere around the world, someone is fighting over something.”
What makes terrorism unique is how modern tactics are designed to inflict maximum psychological impact—especially through media attention.
The United Nations’ Definition of Terrorism
In 2004, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1566, which condemned terrorist acts as:
“Criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act.”
According to the UN, these acts are never justifiable—whether for political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious, or other reasons.
Terrorism as a Tool of Fear
Terrorism is essentially a weapon wielded to instil fear or coerce governments and societies into doing what the perpetrators want. This makes it not just a physical attack, but a psychological weapon aimed at changing behavior through fear.
In many ways, terrorism can be understood as an extension of the fear of crime. Research shows that fear alone can be enough to prevent people from acting, alter their behavior, or provoke them into doing something drastic. It’s a psychological tool as much as a physical one.
What’s Next?
Next week, I’ll dive deeper into the fear of crime and how it impacts society. It’s an area of research that fascinates me because it shapes so much of how we live, often without us even realizing it.
I hope you enjoyed the video and this post. Feel free to drop any questions or thoughts in the comments—I’d love to hear from you!
Emma x
