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Global Security, Military Power, and Terrorism
Learning objectives
- Perceptions play an important role in the decisions that states make regarding war and peace. This chapter shows the ways in which theories of international relations help to shape those perceptions.
- The chapter also shows the effects of globalization on key aspects of security: the changing nature of warfare and nuclear weapons proliferation.
- We will analyze how perception can influence how some groups are called terrorists, while others are legitimate groups that use unconventional methods.
- Explain the differences between religious groups that use terror methods and political groups that use the methods.
- Define the law-enforcement approach to fighting terrorists, as well as the war-on-terror approach to fighting terrorists.
Key concepts and terms
- Absolute gains
- Al Qaeda
- Asymmetric conflicts
- Clandestine or “sleeper” cells
- Community
- Democratic peace thesis
- Failed states
- Globalization
- Identity
- Imperialism
- Jihad
- Material structure
- Materialism
- Military-industrial complex
- National security
- “New” terrorism
- New wars
- Noncompliance
- Non–nuclear weapon states (NNWSs)
- Norms
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
- Nuclear deterrence
- Nuclear terrorism
- Postmodern or “new” terrorism
- Postmodernity
- Realpolitik
- Relative gains
- Revolution in military affairs (RMA)
- Security
- Security community
- Skyjackings
- Social structure
- Tactics
- Terrorism
- Weapons of mass destruction
- Widening school of international security