Study guide
Topic:
Terrorism II
Lecturer:
Introduction to the topic:
Various forms of terrorism have affected the security environment in all regions of the world. This lecture will deal with four selected terrorist groups in three different regions (Latin America, South Asia and Africa). It will explain their rise, specifics, eventually their fall.
In Latin America, the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia) had been operating for more than half a century. The group is sometimes referred to as a guerrilla, at the same time it is usually cited as an example of so-called narcoterrorism. It used to be the oldest, largest and best armed paramilitary group in Latin America. Although it signed a peace agreement with the Colombian government in 2016 and most members subsequently demobilized, some have not recognised the agreement and pursued their fight. The success of the peace also depends on the ability of Colombia to fulfil its promises, especially towards the poor and marginalized regions where the group had thrived the most.
In South Asia, a group of Tamil Tigers had been fighting for several decades against the Sri Lankan government for an independent state for the Tamil ethnic minority group. They even managed to create a quasi-state in the north of the island (Eelam). Their violent campaign ended when the government used military force to decimate the group in 2009. Since then, the resurgence of any militant group in northern Sri Lanka has been discouraged by a strong police and military presence in the region (although the grievances of Tamil people have not been adequately addressed).
When it comes to so-called jihadist terrorism, Africa (especially Sahel) has become its new front. Among the most active groups are Boko Haram (operating in the Lake Chad region) and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (operating mostly in Mali and the neighboring countries). Both have pledged allegiance to either al-Qaeda or the so-called Islamic State and they pose a broader regional threat. Yet the development on the African continent had also an impact on the Czech Republic, as members of the Czech Armed Forces participated in counterterrorism operations in Mali.
All of these groups share some common features. They emerged in conflict areas or in the aftermath of a conflict in reaction to relative deprivation and marginalization. Besides the terrorist campaign, they all tried to act to a certain extent as social movements providing basic services which in some cases (Boko Haram, Tamil Tigers) led even to the establishment of a “state within a state” (terrorist semi-state or quasi-state).
Instructions for the seminar here
Required sources:
1. KOSÁROVÁ, Dominika. Terrorism II (presentation)
2. VOX: Colombia’s fragile peace, explained, 2016 (5 min). Available on youtube
3. BBC Africa. Boko Haram: A decade of terror explained (7 min). Availabel on youtube
4. Global News. Why jihadists are thriving in West Africa, 2020 (5 min) Available on youtube
Additional sources:
1. Economic Institute for Peace. Global terrorism index 2023. Available here.
2. Country reports on terrorism 2022. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Counterterrorism, 2023. Available here.
3. KAZMAN, Mia. Women of the FARC. National Defense University: William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, 2019. Available here.
3. TED Global. How Christmas lights helped guerrillas put down their guns, 2014 (14 min). Available here.
5. Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province. 2022. Congressional Research Servise. Available here
6. DW News. Why extremist militias are on the rise in the West African Sahel (19 min). Available on youtube