The Polls: Terrorism and Hijacking

Abstract

THE public is deeply concerned over the increase in the frequency of acts of violence involving the holding of hostages and other terrorism. Late in 1977, 90 percent of the population of the United States considered terrorism a very serious problem, and according to an opinion survey conducted half a year later in Great Britain, 85 percent of the British population hold the same view. Regarding terrorism in their own country, and this applies specifically to Great Britain, fewer people consider terrorism to be a very serious problem (Harris, SOC). The farther from home the acts of violence take place, the less sure people are whether the perpetrators are to be seen as terrorists or freedom fighters. In Great Britain, the IRA are regarded as terrorists by 92 percent; the PLO by 70 percent, and the people opposing Mr. Smith in Rhodesia by 34 percent. The Don't know percentage rises from 6 percent -for the IRA to 21 percent for the PLO, and to 29 percent for the people opposing Mr. Smith (SOC, Dec. 1977) Harris and Social Surveys put before the public a list of statements on causes of terrorism asking respondents to indicate whether they felt each statement referred to a major, a minor, or hardly a cause of terrorism. A marked feature of the results is that the Not sure/Don't know percentages are much higher in Great Britain than they are in the United States. Furthermore, almost every statement is seen as a major cause of terrorism by a fairly high percentage of the population. The list of statements on possible solutions of terrorism also finds wide approval among the public. Either Harris and SOC have not included extreme views in the list of statements, or people are prepared to endorse any possible solution to terrorism, even if they would not normally approve of the method employed. The latter explanation is supported by the results of other opinion surveys: Introduction of the death penalty for terrorists is favored by a majority of 55 percent in Germany (DMS, 1976), 55 percent in the United States (Harris, 1977), and 71 percent in Great Britain (SOC, 1978). In the Netherlands, 62 percent are in favor of placing South Moluccans under strict surveillance, even if the country should