Making Terrorism History

Why is terrorism such a major force in our world and what can we do to combat it? Making Terrorism History, a new book co-written by the founder of Peace Direct, Scilla Elworthy, sets out to answer these questions.

Peace Direct Chief Executive Carolyn Hayman OBE reviews the book...

Many current approaches to terrorism are highly superficial, taking no account of the mental background and psychology of those who engage in armed struggle. Such approaches are almost bound to make a bad situation worse.

In Making Terrorism History, Scilla Elworthy, a Trustee of Peace Direct, and Gabrielle Rifkind, explain how the roots of terrorism often lie in experiences of powerlessness and humiliation. This may be personal experience, for example of homes entered by secret police or by soldiers, relatives taken away or shamed – but it may also be the collective humiliation of seeing a nation, or a religion, not given the respect or position that it merits. Referring to this, the authors write ‘With such an emotionally, physically and politically intangible force as a driving factor, it becomes clear that terrorism cannot simply be understood by reference to factors such as poverty, political constellations and power struggles, or historical events.’

Given this, purely military approaches to terrorism cannot succeed. Making Terrorism History recommends a number of alternative ways to break the cycle of violence:

· Removing the causes of humiliation – instead, showing respect

· Providing political, physical and psychological security

· Strengthening the ability of grass roots peacebuilding groups to spread understanding and hold power to account

· Inclusive approaches to peace negotiations and peacebuilding, including greater involvement of women.

Making Terrorism History includes many examples of successful non-violent approaches. It ends with suggestions as to what ordinary people can do. In taking action ‘two ingredients become crucial here:

· The capacity to listen carefully and try to understand why people are seeing things differently, rather than reacting or defending

· The ability to put oneself in the other person’s shoes and imagine why they think as they do

'If you are bold enough to take such initiatives, you can expect to be ridiculed, but the most important thing is to keep doing it.'

Making Terrorism History, published by Rider, an imprint of Random House, is available in bookshops, price £3.99. It is based on a Demos publication, Hearts and Minds.

Peace Direct is a Registered Charity, Number 1123241