Fear Of Terrorism Research Articles

Assessing and reporting leaking of violent intent: Influences of perpetrator and witness characteristics

Because the police are reliant on laypersons to report announcements (leaking) of terrorist attacks, it is crucial to examine potential determinants for their assessment of the seriousness of leaking and the likelihood to report it. Members of the law enforcement authorities also need to decide which instances of leaking to prosecute further. We asked 392 laypersons and 188 police students to assess the seriousness and anticipated likelihood to report/prosecute leaking. Using a behavioral process tracing (BPT) task, we examined which further information they consider important for their decisions. We also assessed participant characteristics that may influence these decisions. Laypersons rated the seriousness of leaking higher than police students, but were less likely to report it to the police than police students were likely to have the leaking prosecuted. Both groups selected information about the potential perpetrator's criminal history, political attitude, and repetition of leaking most frequently. Accordingly, receiving information about the potential perpetrator's criminal past, right-wing attitude, and repetition of leaking in the BPT task was associated with increases in the seriousness ratings and the likelihood to report/prosecute leaking in both groups. Concerning the participants’ characteristics, particularly fear of terrorism (and partly political attitude and news consumption) predicted both the seriousness ratings and the likelihood to report/prosecute leaking. In conclusion, characteristics of both the potential perpetrator and the participants drove the decisions. Thus, it seems important to provide more information about the concept of leaking and to emphasize its importance in preventing terrorist attacks in order to improve the likelihood to report/prosecute it. Additionally, the development of objective assessment criteria for the police seems essential in order to reduce the influence of witnesses' characteristics on these decisions.

Terrorism and Human Rights: A Critical Study

This research paper deals with the Menace of terrorism in the world and the use of media by terrorist groups, National Security Laws, which include different activities to combat the fear of terrorism. It also includes the different laws of a state to maintain peace and protect people not to be provoked by religion. Terrorism is one of the fears for people across the world are fighting to overcome. Several countries have become victims of terrorism. ISIS was the largest terrorist group all over the world causing damage to the countries. This research paper also deals with different laws and acts in respect of fighting against terrorism such as IPC (Indian Penal Code), POTA (the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002). Terrorists are none other than us, who have been misguided. Unemployment, poverty, and conflict are a few examples that give birth to terrorists. Unlike some other countries, India is a socialist country where no religion is superior, but still, people fight over the name of religion. This research paper also talks about the and about the Abrogation of Article 370 and its impact on terrorism. Nowadays, it has become a compelling duty for countries to protect the basic right of human beings and to provide security without jeopardizing them as terrorism constitutes a threat to the country.

Internet‐of‐things architectures for secure cyber–physical spaces: The VISOR experience report

AbstractInternet of things (IoT) technologies are becoming a more and more widespread part of civilian life in common urban spaces, which are rapidly turning into cyber–physical spaces. Simultaneously, the fear of terrorism and crime in such public spaces is ever‐increasing. Due to the resulting increased demand for security, video‐based IoT surveillance systems have become an important area for research. Considering the large number of devices involved in the illicit recognition task, we conducted a field study in a Dutch Easter music festival in a national interest project called VISOR to select the most appropriate device configuration in terms of performance and results. We iteratively architected solutions for the security of cyber–physical spaces using IoT devices. We tested the performance of multiple federated devices encompassing drones, closed‐circuit television, smart phone cameras, and smart glasses to detect real‐case scenarios of potentially malicious activities such as mosh pits and pick‐pocketing. Our results pave the way to select optimal IoT architecture configurations—that is, a mix of CCTV, drones, smart glasses, and camera phones in our case—to make safer cyber–physical spaces' a reality.

THE IMPACT OF THE SOFT TERRORISM CONCEPT ON KOREANS AND JAPANESE

The development of social media and Internet technologies has increased the speed of news, and people have gained immediate access to information on many issues. However, it has also affected terrorist organizations by changing their methods, strategies, and visions. With these new methods and strategies, today’s terrorist organizations negatively affect the psychology of South Koreans and Japanese, who are not targets of global terrorism. Recent studies have shown that a significant proportion of Japanese and South Koreans are worried about terrorism despite their limited history of terrorism compared with the rest of the world. This research suggests that the fear of terrorism in these countries could be explained using the concept of soft terrorism. This study performed a quantitative analysis of the seventh wave of the World Values Survey using the ordinal logistic regression (OLR) method, finding that the fear of terrorism is attributed to active media sources such as the Internet for South Koreans and passive media sources such as social media for the Japanese.

Divergent shifts in fear of terrorism

AbstractIn this study, we examine how the two facets of the fear of terrorism—the affective and behavioural fears—shift over time. To this end, we use a unique longitudinal data set of a representative sample of 755 Dutch respondents, recruited from the Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences panel, in the time period between November 2017 and May 2020. We find that the reported affective fear of terrorism is significantly lower during the COVID‐19 crisis in 2020 than it was in 2017. Yet a divergent trend for behavioural fear of terrorism occurred. In spite of decreased affective fear of terrorism threats, respondents in 2020 reported increased protective and avoidance behaviours, similar to behaviours promoted to stop the spread of COVID‐19.

Emotional security as a condition for preventing fear of terrorism

Introduction. Terrorophobia is today one of those fears that are commonly called global. The fear of terrorism as a real threat to private life becomes social and not every government is able to prevent terrorist attacks committed on its territory.Purpose setting. Prevention of the emergence and development of terrorophobia is, coming from society and the individual himself, a specific barrier to the fear of terrorism as an action and a social phenomenon as a whole. We believe that the main factor contributing to the overcoming of terrorophobia coming from society is educational activities. A factor coming from the individual (family) upbringing and self-education. The purpose of these three processes is one – the emotional protection of the individual from fears of different qualitative certainty. Analysis of emotional security as a factor in the prevention of terrorophobia.Methodology and methods of the study. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study was made up of the main provisions of the subject-activity, system and functional approaches developed by domestic and foreign scientists.Results. The article proclaims the thesis that the emotional security of the subject, formed and developed at the personal level, is the most important condition (along with many others) of prevention and "experiencing" both the threat of terrorism itself and the terrorist attack itself as an action, a witness (and even a victim ) which any individual can become. Educational potential is a factor contributing to an increase in emotional security through psychological readiness, extensive communications and the improvement of one’s intellectual level.Conclusion. The goal of emotional security is always twofold: overcoming fears of any etiology and conscious reflection on the impossibility of their absolute overcoming. In the extreme, the goal is to teach yourself to live in conditions of uncertainty.

Knowing is Half the Battle: How Education Decreases the Fear of Terrorism

Although only 23 people on average have been killed per year by terrorist attacks in the United States since 2001, American citizens and politicians consistently rank terrorism as a top security threat, leading to costly wars abroad and the repression of civil liberties at home. To what extent can education about terrorism alter perceptions of the threat? Much existing scholarship—and consistent polling over the past two decades—suggests that it cannot, but we disagree. Evidence gathered from an extensive series of experimental and observational surveys involving students in 31 terrorism and non-terrorism related courses at 12 universities—including massive open online courses (MOOC) and online surveys—reveals that the more individuals learn about terrorism, the smaller they perceive the threat to be to themselves and to the U.S. In the fight against terrorism and the fear it inspires, knowing really is half the battle.

Fears of cyberterrorism, terrorism, and terrorist attacks: an empirical comparison

ABSTRACT The goals of this study are to identify the determinants of the fear of cyberterrorism and to compare these to the determinants of the fear of terrorism as well as the fear of a terrorist attack. As no empirical study has yet tested what predicts the fear of cyberterrorism, the current research used variables from the fear of terrorism literature to explore the impact of these factors on the fear of cyberterrorism. Based on nationally representative data from the 2018 American Fears Survey (N = 1190), our analytic results indicated that fear of cyberterrorism is a distinct fear when compared to terrorism and terrorist attacks in terms of their predictors, and age and education are significant determinants for fear of cyberterrorism, but not for the two terror-related fears in our sample. Other similarities and differences between the three measures of terror-related fear are also discussed in the study.

Who’s Afraid of Terror News? The Interplay between News Consumption Patterns, Personal Experiences and Fear of Terrorism

ABSTRACT A positive correlation between exposure to terrorism news reports and fear of terrorism has been documented, but less is known about factors moderating this relationship. Our focus is mostly on identifying relevant moderators. We argue that individuals’ habitual patterns in news consumption (frequency, type of outlet, genre) and personal experiences (prior victimization, living in a diverse neighborhood, residing in an urban area) are relevant in this regard. In a between-subjects experiment (2 groups: exposure to terror threat story vs. control story) in Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden (N = 786) we exposed participants to a news story on terror threat. Effects on fear of terrorism were especially strong for citizens that often consume soft, popular and commercial forms of news and live in urban areas.

Fear of Terrorism and Support for Nondemocratic Rule in Democracies

Fear of Terrorism and Support for Nondemocratic Rule in Democracies

Bordering power Europe? The mobility-bordering nexus in and by the European Union

ABSTRACT The EU has been built on the idea that enhanced transnational relations and free movement of persons between Member States have a positive impact on international cooperation and security. However, what we have witnessed in the past decade is a growing pressure to limit mobility, reinvigorated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Calls for a strengthened Schengen area go together with the externalization of European borders and the involvement of third states, but also with the reintroduction of border functions between Member States. Inside the EU free movement has been reduced if not stopped for fear of terrorism, irregular migration or the spread of viruses. Meanwhile, new techniques to govern mobility have emerged, affecting the role and meaning of borders. This article focuses on three dynamics of this process that entail a transformation of sovereignty, territoriality and rights: the externalization of borders, internal rebordering and logistification. The article argues that by focusing on what borders do rather than discussing what borders are, we can observe a more comprehensive transformation of borders within, around and outside the EU, a transformation that goes beyond the Westphalian imaginary and the simplistic alternative between hard and soft borders.

Indivisibilité, Sécurité, Laïcité: the French ban on the burqa and the niqab

In France, secularism is celebrated in the public sphere. The paper makes general arguments about France’s changing identity and specific arguments about the burqa and niqab ban. It explains how French history shaped the ideology of secularism and of public civil religion, and how colonial legacy, immigration, fear of terrorism and security needs have led France to adopt the trinity of indivisibilité, sécurité, laïcité while paying homage to the traditional trinity of liberté, égalité, fraternité. While the motto of the French Revolution is still symbolically and politically important, its practical significance as it has been translated to policy implementation has been eroded. The emergence of the new trinity at the expense of the old one is evident when analyzing the debates concerning cultural policies in France in the face of the Islamic garb, the burqa and the niqab, which are perceived as a challenge to France’s national secular raison d'être. The French Republic has attempted to keep public space secular. Is the burqa and niqab ban socially just? Does it reasonably balance the preservation of societal values and freedom of conscience? It is argued that the burqa and niqab ban is neither just nor reasonable in the eyes of the women and girls who wish to wear the Muslim garb, their families and community, and that paternalism that holds that the ban is for the women’s own good is a poor, coercive excuse. Claims for paternalistic coercion to protect adult women from their own culture when they do not ask for protection are not sufficiently reasonable to receive vindication.

Let’s talk about terrorism

ABSTRACT What is at stake when educators are asked to deploy vigilant surveillance against students considered to be at risk of becoming a terrorist? This article explores the growing relationship between education and terrorism by focusing on how schools can contribute to reducing fears of terrorism. Rather than profiling future terrorists among their students, the argument is put forward that educators must encourage deliberative agonistic discussions about terrorism in the classroom. Ultimately, this can help students to build resilience against terror fear, which might serve as a bulwark against a range of social negatives. Examples from the empirical literature are offered to highlight how education can reduce terror fear by encouraging discussions about terrorism in schools, which can also have a transformative effect on helping students to unlearn or disengage from extreme ideals and behaviours. In the strand of education-terrorism literature, this could well touch upon some of the most important aspects within educational efforts to reduce the fear of terror and perhaps even reduce terrorism itself.

The rising fear of terrorism and the emergence of a European security governance space: citizen perceptions and EU counterterrorism cooperation

ABSTRACT Among a wide range of challenges, EU member states have been facing a growing threat from terrorism in the recent years. The primary responsibility for combating terrorism lies with each individual member state, although the threat is becoming increasingly cross-border and diverse. Regardless of whether terrorism poses a real or perceived threat to the states’ and citizens’ security, public opinion is one important force behind the extensive counterterrorism efforts undertaken in Europe. In this article, we explore the influence of public opinion on EU policy within the security domain in the period 2005–19. We investigate the relationship between the number of attacks carried out on EU territory and citizens’ increased concern for terrorist attacks, as well as the attention given to this topic by EU decision-makers. Based on data from Eurobarometer, the Global Terrorism Database, and evidence from official documents, we perform an analysis of the connection between public perception and anti-terrorism policy coordination in the EU. The results of this investigation point to increasing levels of collective securitization and an ever-stronger focus on security and counterterrorism in the European Union. Our findings are related to policy formation in the EU.

Putting Terror in Its Place: An Experiment on Mitigating Fears of Terrorism among the American Public

An American’s yearly chance of being killed by a terrorist attack sits at roughly 1 in 3.5 million. Yet, over 40 percent of Americans consistently believe that they or their family members are likely to be a terror victim. Can these inflated estimates of the risks of terrorism be brought closer to reality? With trillions of dollars spent on the “War on Terror,” this question is not just theoretically but practically important. In order to investigate, we use an experimental approach assessing whether people update their beliefs about terrorism when given factual information about the relative risks it presents. We find that public fear of terrorism and demand for countering it can be sharply reduced with better information, dropping essentially to pre-9/11 levels after the treatment and staying that way two weeks later. These results suggest that countering the indirect costs of terrorism may largely require providing more context and perspective.

Counterterrorism Evaluation and Citizens: More Than about Policing?

The police force is one of the few institutions still trusted by the public today. Yet, whilst the recent waves of terrorism have “stimulated” academic activity on the determinants of public fear of terrorism, much less academic effort has been focused on measuring and assessing the effectiveness of anti-terrorism strategies. The present article makes some contributions towards addressing this gap by investigating what shapes public attitudes towards the effectiveness of terrorism policing. Using Eurobarometer data, our results demonstrate that objective national economic, societal and political indicators do not tend to influence popular opinion on the effectiveness of the police in dealing with terrorism. They also show that individuals’ perceptions about the national socio-economic situation are better predictors of public opinion on terrorism policing than individuals’ financial and social positions or levels of education. The influence of these perceptions on public attitudes towards the effectiveness of counterterrorism seems to be more potent than the one on public fear of terrorism found in the extant literature. The implications of these findings are then considered.

Fear of Terrorism and Fear of Violent Crimes in the United States: A Comparative Analysis

The purpose of this study was to compare Americans’ fear of terrorism to fear of violent crimes (i.e., murder, mass shooting, and gang violence). Previous research suggested that similarities exist between terrorism and violent crimes, yet no study has compared the fear aspects of terrorism and violence in the United States. Using nationally representative data from the 2018 Americans’ Fears Survey ( N = 1,190), we compared fear of terrorism to fear of violent crimes with a main focus on the effects of exposure to the media, political views, and religiosity of the adult Americans. The results of the analyses showed the roles of online media, religiosity, and politics differed significantly in shaping the sampled Americans’ fear of terrorism when compared to their fear of violent crimes. Despite the resemblance of terrorism and violence, the fear arising from the political nature of terrorism as a crime distinguishes the nature of fear from violent crimes.

Talented, Yet Seen with Suspicion

The attacks of September 11, 2001, put terrorism at the forefront of the American political landscape. Donald Trump played into these fears of terrorism through his political rhetoric during his presidency, particularly targeting international students as “threats” to the nation. However, we argue that the labeling of international students as security threats was not started after 9/11 nor invented by Trump. Through historical records and accounts across decades of policies related to this issue, we seek to answer two questions: How has the U.S. government monitored visa policies and programs for international students? How have U.S. national policies evolved to view international students as national security threats? We find that mistrust of this population has been embedded throughout U.S. immigration history and that federal tracking policies emerged incrementally from long-held security concerns. We discuss why the entire population of international students should not be scapegoated due to fear.

Fear of the Unknown: Does Fear of Terrorism Differ From Fear of Contracting COVID-19?

The aim of the study was to explore whether living under constant security threat would result in better coping and higher resilience when exposed to an unknown threat such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, fear of COVID-19 and fear of terrorism as well as the associations with coping strategies and resilience were examined among Israelis living in conflict zones as well as Israelis living in the center, where exposure to security incidents is rare. Six hundred and fifteen Israeli adults (260 men and 356 women) were interviewed via the internet while Israel was under mandatory first lockdown. Fear of COVID-19 was found to be higher than fear of terrorism among both groups. those living in the conflict zones and those living in the central Israel. In contradiction to our assumption, we found that those who were living in a conflict zone did not exhibit higher levels of resilience and did not cope better when exposed to a new threat—even though they may be more skilled at handling prolonged exposure to a threat such as terrorism. A regression analysis indicated that the best predictor of both fear of COVID-19 and of terrorism is financial concerns—more than geographical area.

Why it is Not Unreasonable to Fear Terrorism

The fear of terrorism is repeatedly scolded. A common claim is that since we are far more likely to be killed in some road or household accident than in a terror attack, the concern with the latter is unreasonably exaggerated. I argue that terrorism’s relatively limited death toll need not mean that fearing it is unreasonable, nor does it immediately imply that counter-terrorism policies are unjustified – whatever other, legitimate concerns these policies give rise to. First, in the special case of terrorism, it is misleading to focus on risk per capita, as critics typically do. Unlike some other hazards, the fact that an individual person is unlikely to be affected is not necessarily due to a diminished potential on the side of the terrorists. Rather, it may simply reflect the less important fact that the number of victims is expected to be small relative to the size of the population. Second, while terrorism has a probabilistic component which should be relevant to decision-making, risk is not entirely or even primarily what terrorism is all about. There are salient moral reasons for being concerned with terror – reasons that are irrelevant in the case of traffic- or household accidents. Third, I argue that fearing terrorism may be reasonable even while recognizing the small probability of personal harm. Due to terrorism’s random character, the belief that one will escape harm rests on little more than statistical evidence. As I explain, this evidence leaves room for reasonable doubt, which renders at least some level of fear reasonable as well. Please note: The reference list on the abstract page for this paper is automatically generated by a beta feature and may thus contain errors and omissions. Please consult the PDF version of the paper for complete and authoritative reference information.