POLS 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Liberation Tigers Of Tamil Eelam, Asymmetric Warfare
19 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
Terrorism is the use or threat of violence against noncombatant targets by individuals or non state groups for political ends. Hope to sow fear so that their target will succumb to their political demands. Attempts to alter the behavior of the government. This violence is prompted as a result of bargaining failure from incomplete information or credible commitment: 1. Terrorists are not irrational, they are very calculated. Cost of terrorist is higher than the gains. 3. Attacks are sometimes random, making it hard for the population to adjust: extremism implies that few other individuals share their political preferences. Actors who are politically weak relative to the demands they make. Asymmetric warfare: conflict between actors with highly unequal capabilities, like a terrorist group against a state. Hence, the goal of terrorists is to bypass the other side"s military and target the population.
