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9/11 shocked global standpoints on terrorism

globalMNA Editorial Desk: 9/11 shocked the international system, changing global standpoints on both the threat of terrorism and the tools essential to stop it.

In spite of the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May 2011, the world is still—a decade after September 11 (9/11) — looking for an effective way to react to the global terrorist threat.

In current years, terrorist networks have changed, moving away from a dependency on state sponsorship; many of the most dangerous groups and individuals now operate as nonstarter actors.

Taking benefit of porous borders and unified international systems—finance, communications, and transit—terrorist groups can reach every corner of the globe. While some remain focused on local or national political dynamics, others seek to affect global change.

At the forefront of this trend is al-Qaeda. From its base in the borderlands between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the al-Qaeda network has spread widely, establishing branches or affiliates elsewhere, including in North Africa, Yemen, and Southeast Asia.

Since September 11 (9/11) , generating such a comprehensive response has proven difficult. The United Nations, the world’s foremost multilateral body, has made strides in developing legal and normative means to combat terrorism, yet member states’ perceptions of the threat of terrorism remain uneven.

Overall, the global counter terrorism regime continues to suffer from three main weaknesses. First, lack of a universal agreement over what constitutes terrorism weakens efforts to formulate a concerted global response.

Second, multilateral action suffers from inadequate compliance and enforcement of existing instruments. Third, although counter radicalization and de-radicalization initiatives have gained some attention over the last five years, progress is lacking, particularly in states with limited resources and expertise.

The history of terrorism is a history of well-known and historically important individuals, entities, and incidents associated, whether rightly or wrongly, with terrorism. Intellectuals agree that terrorism is a disputed term, and very few of those labeled terrorists describe themselves as such.

It is common for opponents in a violent conflict to describe the other side as terrorists or as practicing terrorism. Anarchism, often in league with rising nationalism and anti-monarchism, was the most prominent ideology linked with terrorism. Near the end of the 19th century, anarchist groups or individuals committed assassinations of a Russian Tsar and a U.S. President.

In the 20th century, terrorism continued to be associated with a vast array of anarchist, socialist, fascist and nationalist groups, many of them engaged in ‘third world’ anti-colonial struggles. Some scholars also labeled as terrorist the systematic internal violence and intimidation practiced by states such as the Stalinist Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

It was 9/11 that changed everything, the beautiful face of the world that we sometime knew.

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