• The effect of polarization of American politics. Assess how the polarization of
American politics creates new threats of domestic terror in the U.S. from white
nationalists, anarchists, extreme environmentalists, and radicalized citizens of Middle
Eastern heritage. Watch the required video The American Face of Terror: Political and
Security Realities, where a moderated panel discusses various views of the effects of
politics and terrorism from a U.S. perspective and a terrorist perspective. They explore
the issues and complexity of politics and terrorism and address the issue from military
intervention to ideology, and from domestic to international perspectives.
• Terrorism end stages. There are several examples of governments and terrorist
organizations ending hostilities, resulting in a normalization of relations between them.
Some examples include the Irish Republican Army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Columbia (FARC), or the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka.
Research several terrorist groups and determine how hostilities ended.
• Terrorism or criminal act. There is considerable debate on whether an event should be
labeled a terrorist attack or if it is just a criminal act by a disturbed individual. With the
lone wolf attacks in England, France, and the U.S., the lines between criminal and
terrorist are blurred. Max Fisher’s article “Terrorist or Disturbed Loner? The Contentious
Politics of a Label (Links to an external site.)” (2017) lays out several interesting
arguments that can be traced back to defining terrorism and how we respond to events.
Read the article and open and review the readers’ comments to better understand the
issues surrounding labeling an incident as either a terrorist act or a criminal act.
After you have selected one of the three scenarios listed above, select an international or
domestic terrorist group or movement that is active today and a threat to U.S. interests either at
home or overseas.
In your paper,
• Summarize various strategies the U.S. can use to respond to or prevent terrorist attacks by
your chosen group.
• Assess the potential effectiveness of
o Normal police response to criminal action.
o More comprehensive socioeconomic strategies.
o Military action.
• Appraise if additional police powers or legislative measures are needed by the federal
government to protect the country from terrorist threats.
• Evaluate if increasing governmental powers to enhance security is worth the potential
erosion of civil liberties.
Sample Solution
