Criminal Justice

The mid-term exam will consist of an essay question developed from class discussions, assignments, and readings. Remember to follow the writing requirements for all assignments.

The essay question will be graded on correct format, grammar, spelling, and the ability to clearly and succinctly answer the question while providing evidence from the content readings to back up your analysis

*Please answer one of the following essay questions/prompts as the topic of your mid-term exam essay:

1- Why is it important to understand the threat from domestic terrorist groups?
2- Define and explain the term “strategic logic that drives terrorist violence”.
3- Examine and discuss lone-wolf terrorism.
4- Describe and analyze one right-wing terrorist group that is currently active in the United States.
5———– The paper should be formatted as an APA paper

ANSWER

Lone Wolf Terrorism

Introduction

Over the years, lone-wolf terrorism has highly attracted the attention of scholars and researchers to understand the phenomenon of lone-wolf terrorism. The lone wolf terrorists consist of individual attackers that act alone without the operational involvement of terrorist organizations in planning, initiating, and executing attacks (Phillips, 2011). The phenomenon has lacked a clear direction of the actions, making it crucial to examine and understand the systems that motivate them to perpetrate attacks. This paper will explore and discuss lone wolf terrorism to understand what classifies violent acts by a lone individual.

Modern terrorism is an evolving and dynamic phenomenon that keeps on transforming. Over the years, terrorist groups and individual terrorists worldwide have been using a wide array of attacks. The wave of terrorist attacks has been rising due to mimic of successful attacks perpetrated such as hijackings, bombing, and cold weapons. Considerably, the terrorism wave exists due to several explanations and reasons, among other things, stemming and change in terrorists’ set of beliefs and cost-benefit analysis (Phillips, 2011). The current trend of modern terrorism has evolved from a large group of terrorists to a lone terrorist. These individuals have been able to mobilize and radicalize online, thus executing attacks quickly. Additionally, lone terrorism has been difficult to disrupt, investigate, and identify without a clear group of guidance or affiliation.

Lone wolf terrorism is not a new phenomenon since, throughout history, individual independent terrorists have executed attacks without any organizational support, operational involvement, or guidance from terrorist groups (Phillips, 2011). However, lone-wolf terrorism has been among the most changeable terrorist acts that single individuals have done. The most challenging part in distinguishing lone-wolf terrorism is that these terrorists exist in any size, and ethnicity or denotes any belief (Moskalenko and McCauley, 2011). The issue of lone-wolf terrorism is growing and creating one of the extreme threats in society compared to the organized terrorist groups.

There are three major problems linked with the identification and detection of lone wolves terrorists. The primary issue is lone terrorists fail to include and connect with others in their organization and perpetuate their attacks. The next issue is that they arise from different upbringings and have a extensive array of drives. Some lone terrorists are religiously inspired, politically driven, and mentally unsound (Moskalenko and McCauley, 2011). Individual terrorists are motivated by a wide range of motives such as revenge of personal, religious, and human humiliation, national struggle, and social esteem. Therefore, the motivation of lone-wolf terrorists to execute attacks is a unique personal combination of the various arrays which differ from one lone wolf terrorist to the other. For instance, ideological motive groups may involve devotion to radical ideologies such as communists, national-separatist, fascists, and anarchists. Interpersonal motives include crisis or issues with the central figure; familial motives may include complex and problematic relationships with family members, while economic motives may include acute economic crises, poverty, and socioeconomic status.

Additionally, a lone terrorist might sympathize with radical actions but fail to participate in activities. The last issue with the lone-wolf terrorist is difficulty in distinguishing those who aim to conduct a real crime and those who uphold far-reaching principles and respect the law. Ideally, lone-wolf terrorists fight for the philosophical beliefs of a radical society (Hamm, Spaaij, Hamm, and Spaaij, 2017). The schemes and tactics of lone wolves are conceptualized and carried out independently, making it challenging for the counterterrorism administrators. It is challenging to collect data about lone wolves since they hardly get in touch with any external regulation or power. In 2017, lone-wolf terrorism occurred in the Las Vegas shooting, where people have gathered for country music festivals. The sixty-four-year-old gunman opened fire in the crowd and killed fifty-eight individuals and wounded 422. An hour later, the killer was found dead in an apartment through a self-inflated gunshot. His plan was not well known, but upon investigations, it was found that lone terrorists had done many internet researchers about Las Vegas and weapons. Therefore, it is difficult to determine the intentions of a lone terrorist and whether they have external assistance.

Most lone wolf terrorists have shared common characteristics regarding their behavior and background. For instance, lone wolves aim at exploring the extremist media on the internet. They tend to publish their agendas and manifestos on the internet. Anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder is a sole terrorist who relied on the internet and killed a physician in Kansas. The physician, George Tiller, was one of the well-known doctors that committed abortion. Before the attack, the wolf terrorist wrote on abortion and expressed his views and why he was against abortion, especially Tiller’s work.

Another major characteristic of Lone wolf terrorists is that they have difficulties in their childhood and social problems. Additionally, most lone-wolf terrorists refused to continue with their military duties and thus have a military connection.  Studies have found out that lone wolf terrorism results from relative deprivation (Spaaij, 2011). Considerably, lone individuals feel that they have been deprived of something they consider valuable and are entitled to. Therefore, they form grievances against the government responsible for injustices and discrimination. When a person is deprived of certain opportunities and resources, this creates resentment, where an individual can turn into terrorism to express their disgrace.

The internet has greatly contributed to growth of lone-wolf terrorism since it has made the world a virtual society of compatible individuals that contribute to the radicalization of members, educating one another, and facilitating the planning and execution of attacks. Additionally, it has also allowed the terrorist organizations to disseminate and post propaganda and offer instructions on how to produce ammunition, weapons, and explosives. Therefore, the lone wolves are exposed to materials and inspired to execute attacks. For instance, the ability of terrorist organizations to directly communicate with individual perpetrators globally has enabled them to further radicalize and motivate the lone wolves terrorists to execute attacks.

The ability of intelligent communities and law enforcers to discover and eliminate lone wolf terrorism needs a strong comprehension of the radicalization procedure. These processes effectively gain signatures and detection systems that act as indicators of how lone wolf terrorism is developed. Investigators also need to understand some of the past counterterrorism strategies that have been derived from lone-wolf operations.

Conclusion

Lone wolf terrorism involves individuals that rely on operational independence and have a high level of self-education. These individuals are pushed by political and personal grievances, making lone terrorism a crystallization of multiple processes and factors such as vulnerabilities, grievances, stressors, and capabilities. The sense of self-righteousness and moral superiority is a trait evident in lone terrorism. The study has examined some of the various traits of lone-wolf terrorism and how their actions are geospatially and temporarily patterned. The attack characteristics and precursor behaviors of lone wolves are similar but dissimilar compared to the group-based terrorists. The series analysis of lone-wolf terrorism has shown that they are socially isolated and more educated, making them survive longer than group-based terrorists.

References

Hamm, M. S., Spaaij, R., Hamm, M., & Spaaij, R. (2017). The age of lone wolf terrorism. Columbia University Press.

Moskalenko, S., & McCauley, C. (2011). The psychology of lone-wolf terrorism. Counseling psychology quarterly, 24(2), 115-126.

Phillips, P. J. (2011). Lone wolf terrorism. Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, 17(1).

Spaaij, R. (2011). Understanding lone wolf terrorism: Global patterns, motivations, and prevention. Springer Science & Business Media.