Does the word terrorism strike fear into your heart? Well, it should, considering the base word of terrorism is actually terror. For the last 2 decades, the world has had a heightened response and reaction to acts of terrorism. Most of these acts were committed by terrorist organizations, notably Al-Qaeda in the 2000s and ISIS in the 2010s. However, a new threat is emerging from the shadows, one so quiet and unnoticeable that many countries have struggled to face it head on. Domestic terrorism is on an undeniable rise in the last few years, with more and more acts being committed every year.
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What constitutes domestic terrorism then? Also known as homegrown terrorism, it is an act of terror committed by a perpetrator in their own country, against their own citizens. Sounds crazy, right? Often committed by highly radicalized individuals known as ‘lone wolves’, these acts are usually intended to intimidate and carry out their own agenda. Most notoriously, the 2019 Christchurch shootings in New Zealand was carried out by Brenton Tarrant, a self-proclaimed white supremacist and extremist that held strong anti-Islamic views, and his actions claimed the lives of 51 Muslims across 2 mosques. Tarrant is an excellent albeit gut-wrenching example of how self-radicalized individuals can be pushed to extreme lengths to realise their goals. Similar domestic terrorism acts have also been on the rise all around the world, some even inspired by Tarrant’s actions, such as the El Paso Walmart Shooting in late 2019.
While race and religion-motivated shootings have hogged American headlines, domestic terrorism is not limited to the individual. Nefarious groups have operated in the shadows for years, constantly striving to recruit individuals to carry out acts of violence or terror in the name of some twisted ideology. In a recent case just over a month ago, an obscure member of German nobility was arrested over his role in allegedly leading a plot to overthrow the German government. The bizarre putsch involved members who subscribed to the Reichsbürger, a movement that disputes the abolishment of the German monarchy with the formation of the Weimar Republic in 1918. Some branches further subscribe to the 1871 imperial constitution, believing that the present-day German government is illegitimate. A total of 25 co-conspirators were arrested in a raid last December, amongst them included an AfD (Alternative für Deutschland, a right-wing German political party) member who once served in the German Bundestag (Parliament). The significant preparation and planning undertaken thus far shocked many - hundreds of weapons were seized and the group even contacted the Russians (albeit unsuccessfully) to drum up support for their cause. Currently under investigation as of Jan 2023, the disturbing plot has highlighted the dangers of terror penetrating all sectors of society - when extremist beliefs held by the minority translate into real-life actions that seek to destroy the very fabric of society.
A raid in Germany in December 2022 apprehended 25 individuals suspected of activities related to domestic terrorism.
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With such incidents becoming more and more prevalent in recent years, presenting themselves in various countries and states, several questions begin to surface. How exactly, and why has the face of terrorism changed so much in the last few years? Only a few years ago, governments’ main terrorist targets were big organizations like ISIS and Jemaah Islamiyah. Now, lone wolf attacks are taking precedence. Even the US’ Department of Homeland Security concluded in a recent report that racially and ethnically motivated violent extremists—specifically white supremacist extremists (WSEs)—will remain the most persistent and lethal threat in the USA. One of the reasons for this rise is the rise of social media in shaping our perceptions and viewpoints of the world. On many platforms, echo chambers are easily formed, encouraged by advanced AI algorithms that push us to content that we are most likely to want to see. This means that our ideas and views are constantly reinforced. In the digital age, anything can be found online, and anyone who has access to a device capable of accessing the internet is able to spread or receive information that they might not otherwise be capable of in our day to day lives. This makes more of a difference than people might think. With the world living with constant reminders of how terrorism can shake the very foundations of nations, anti-terrorism ideals have been built into public knowledge, from the things we teach children in schools to posters and information constantly being circulated until it is ingrained into our memories. The internet, however, has always been able to provide anonymity, even for the most inexperienced of users, to seek out and find anything they wish to look for without fear of being exposed for interests they might otherwise keep secret from others. And in this anonymity, terrorism can flourish. Following the same principles as most other forms of cybercrime (and even cyberbullying), the ability to hide behind online identities allows for individuals to spread their extremist beliefs, and with the right tools and knowledge, conceal themselves from the authorities and operate without fear. And with the unique nature of the internet, anyone unfortunate enough (or those who go looking) can easily stumble upon this propagation of ideologies.
The globalization and glorification of terrorist acts and ideals has allowed for the unique phenomena known as self-radicalization, individuals more akin to ticking time bombs than people, having no connections to extremist groups but sharing in their ideals. And it is because of this blind belief that they begin to take steps to carry out acts that they believe follow such ideals, which often ends up with lone wolf actors carrying out violent acts against specific groups of individuals or public institutions in the name of their ideologies. This has only been allowed to occur because of the effectiveness of disseminating information online, and the difficulty in shutting down such propaganda before it has the chance to spread. As such, the world has seen a rise in domestic terrorism as everyday civilians are brainwashed by the content they consume online, plan their attacks, then execute them. In fact, terrorist groups that have become common knowledge like ISIS have unfortunately kept up with the times, using social media in order to flood the internet with extremist content, proving hazardous to digitally adept countries and their citizens. Furthermore, ease of access to the internet means that such content is becoming far easier for the youth of today to discover as compared to the previous generations. Teenagers, young and impressionable, are often conducting a search for an identity to relate to, an idea that they can follow, something that makes them feel less like a cog in an apathetic machine and more like someone who’s special. Of course, this need for recognition and affirmation results in them being especially susceptible to terrorist ideals floating around on the web.
Susceptible teenagers are increasingly influenced by online terrorist propaganda as social media use becomes more prevalent.
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As terrorist threats metastasize over time, it is natural that law enforcement agencies follow up by modifying, adding on to or even legislating new statutes to address these new threats. For instance, H.R. 350 (Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2019) aimed to establish a new office within the Department of Homeland Security to specifically address the issue of domestic terrorism. Under the bill, more resources would be offered to state and local law enforcement agencies to better identify and combat related threats. Another variant of the bill (similarly entitled Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act) also involved stiffer penalties for domestic terrorists. The Biden Administration has also shone a spotlight on specifically targeting domestic terrorism with the release of the National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism in June 2021, in which the threat posed by far-right extremism is explicitly mentioned as a priority. Regardless of the increasing commonality of terrorist threats, it is somewhat comforting that the government is taking steps to mitigate said issues before they can escalate to disastrous levels. We can only hope that these measures will achieve their intended outcome, and continue to improve with the escalating threat.
In the end, from white supremacists to jihad supporters, the wide range of ideological motivations that spur some to adopt extreme positions as well as people active on the fringes of society mean that terrorism is, unfortunately, here to stay. Likened by some to the children’s game of Whack-a-Mole, law enforcement agencies have rapidly attempted to play catch-up. America and its allies have repeatedly deployed such a strategy against Islamic State, achieving debatable degrees of success. However, intelligence efforts can and have failed to stop all acts of terror especially when the threat originates in the domestic sphere. Lone wolf attacks have been undeniably on the rise and lingering effects of the pandemic on the mental health of the population will only play out in the years to come.
References
Countering the Use of the Internet for Terrorist Purposes. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/terrorism/news-and-events/use-of-the-internet.html
Deutsche Welle. (2022, December 7). German police arrest 25 suspects in plot to overthrow state . Retrieved from https://www.dw.com/en/german-police-arrest-25-suspects-over-plot-to-overthrow-state/a-64011136
Grindell, S. (2022, December 14). A German prince was among those arrested over a suspected far-right plot to topple the country's government. Who is Heinrich XIII? Insider. Retrieved from https://www.insider.com/heinrich-xiii-germany-prince-coup-far-right-2022-12
Jones, S. G., Doxsee, C., Suber, J., Hwang, G., & Harrington, N. (2022, October 22). The War Comes Home: The evolution of domestic terrorism in the United States. CSIS. Retrieved from https://www.csis.org/analysis/war-comes-home-evolution-domestic-terrorism-united-states
The rise of the self-radicalised Lone Wolf Terrorist. Vision of Humanity. (2022, April 7). Retrieved from https://www.visionofhumanity.org/increase-in-self-radicalised-lone-wolf-attackers/
S.894 - Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2019 . (2019, March 27). Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/894
Terror on the Internet: Questions and Answers. United States Institute of Peace. (2016, October 17). Retrieved from https://www.usip.org/publications/terror-internet-questions-and-answers
The Threat of Self Radicalisation. SG101. (2023, January 18). Retrieved from https://www.sg101.gov.sg/defence-and-security/case-studies/the-threat-of-self-radicalisation
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