Globalized Terror?

Globalization has made the world more connected than before, for better or worse. Entire books have been written on the positives and negatives of globalization. For today however, I’d just like to address the effect globalization has had on terrorism throughout the world.

Globalization has made it easier to internationalize a business as many Western companies now do business in exotic locales like Hong Kong, Mumbai, and Dubai. Like any good Western corporation, terrorists adapted to the new globalized world by forming a group named Al Qaeda, that now has affiliated or inspired groups on every inhabited continent throughout the planet. Al Qaeda has also used globalization as a rationale for attacking areas as diverse as the United States, Spain, Russia, among others because Western business interests are plundering the resources of Middle Eastern and Islamic countries for their own materialistic gains, while repressing Muslim beliefs under puppet rulers.


Al Qaeda has also exploited the Visa systems within the United States and Europe to place their operatives in major European and American cities under the guise of students and others seeking greater opportunities. Furthermore, the increased globalization of business has expanded the range of targets terrorists on the increasingly international battlefield. The terrorist is looking for a target that he or she can attack in order to cause the most fear and panic among a target population. Why bomb a European capital when there are scores of hotels in Mumbai that cater to Western tourists that are lightly guarded and susceptible to bomb blasts? With globalization, any target that represents Western modernization can be targeted no matter where its’ located. Increased opportunity for terrorism is definitely a downside of globalization.