Anatomy of terror

[The following review of the book 'Terrorism: Patterns of Internationalisation was published in the Pioneer, on May 3, 2009. Col Hariharan has contributed the chapter on the LTTE's international network included in this book which is a compendium of transnational networks of various terrorist organisations in the world.]

Anatomy of Terror

Terrorism: Patterns of Internationalisation is a well-timed endeavour to dissect international terrorism as well as its regional variants, writes Alok Rashmi Mukhopadhyay

Terrorism: Patterns of Internationalisation
Edited by: Jaideep Saikia and Ekaterina Stepanova
Publisher : Sage;
Price: Rs 695

The ever-changing dynamics of global terrorism makes it difficult for security analysts to arrive at any definitive conclusion and also map the motives and location of future terrorist attacks. This book, Terrorism: Patterns of Internationalisation, edited by Jaideep Saikia and Ekaterina Stepanova, is a well-timed endeavour to dissect international terrorism as well as its regional variants. Within the covers, the editors have collected 11 interesting chapters written by well-informed experts. The collations of data along with incisive analyses are the hallmark of the individual contributors who provide a gripping overview of the challenges and concerns that the menace of terrorism poses in South Asia. The impact of the Mumbai terror (26/11) is presented in the form of an epilogue.

Terrorist attacks and incidents have not shown any global trend of receding. The neighbourhood of India, post-Mumbai attacks, is dangerously slipping into violence and instability. The almost daily terrorist attacks in the Pak-Afghan border region have now reached the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan; the conflict in Sri Lanka has reached a decisive stage; and who can forget the bloodshed and the butchery perpetrated by the BDR mutineers in Bangladesh. This book hence provides an insightful perspective to comprehend the current regional security situation.

The introduction shapes the theoretical premise of the book and builds on the common thread of internationalisation of terrorist and militant groups — old and new, secular and religious, global and local, violent and peaceful. It is too early to agree with the introduction as it predicts that, “the upcoming trend of terrorist operations by Islamist cells around the world is likely to be one of decreasing”, because the formation of these cells as well as the radicalisation process of a large number of young Muslims throughout the globe depends on various issues including unexpected global developments.

Alonso and Iribarren’s paper focus on two traditional Europe-based terrorist organisations, IRA and ETA, and their connections beyond the border. As Europe today is consciously removing its internal borders of nation-states and the EU is embracing new members from the East, the future of these two organisations, confined in small and shrinking areas of influence, can easily be guessed. Though these two organisations would possibly indulge in occasional terrorist acts in their own domains, whether they could sustain their actions is, however, the question. What is missing and which could have added great value to the book is a description and analysis of a more recent phenomenon of terrorist networks in Europe having their connections both in Europe and South Asia, specifically in Pakistan. As the unearthing of terrorist modules recently in Britain and their Pakistani connections is indicative of the larger scope of the contemporary threat, this phenomenon is going to occupy more space in the future global security discourse. Hariharan’s chapter is an evidence of a committed observer to monitor the activities of the LTTE and the support it still enjoys from the diaspora. The outfit may be in its last throes but the recent protest march in London by LTTE’s sympathisers have demonstrated that the organisation still has a strong hold over its closely-knit diaspora community.

Subir Bhaumik’s chapter on Bangladesh brings out new information about the country facing the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism and the danger of gaining root in Bangladeshi secular polity. Scores of terrorist groups in the name of Islam have mushroomed in the last decade and their anachronistic aim is similar for Bangladesh as it is for South Asia in general. While in the last general elections the electorate dumped these radical Islamists, the BDR mutiny proves that there are elements within the establishment that want to destabilise the new government.

Saikia concentrates on the northeast of India, which is geographically distant from the centre and for decades has been facing militancy, insurgency, inter-ethnic conflicts and the strategic threat of ‘Islamisation’ of the region. With painstaking research, he has documented the ISI-DGFI-ULFA nexus to shelter and train terrorist outfits of various hues and plot terrorist attacks in India. Mohamed Osman has made an excellent comparison between the global Islamist movement Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT) and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) in Southeast Asia. Osman is hopeful that the non-violent HuT would influence not only the JI but even the disgruntled members of LeT and SIMI in South Asia to renounce violence. This is an important observation and needs to be tracked.

Overall, Terrorism: Patterns of Internationalisation would serve as a ready reckoner for policy practitioners and the general readership for its methodical research and exhaustive bibliography.

Courtesy: http://www.dailypioneer.com/173470/Anatomy-of-terror.html