Abstract

We live in an age in which eruptions of violence no longer command our full attention. Some have called it the "age of terrorism". The last three decades have born witness to countless bombings, kidnappings, hijackings, shootings and of late, gassing. What do these acts of violence say about the social systems they are meant to disrupt? No social phenomenon, good or bad, will render itself up to simple cause and effect sorts of explanations. It is possible, however, and has been shown to be useful, to draw lines of implication and correlation between social context and the events that occur within them. I argue that these violent acts we call "terrorism" are not merely anomalies or aberrations in an otherwise harmonious system. ;This is an inquiry into the political implications of terrorism. It begins with a brief historical discussion of the term 'terrorism' and terrorist groups. Chapter Two is an analysis of Friedrich Hegel's examination of the Reign of Terror following the French Revolution and an analysis of Hegel's thesis that "absolute freedom" can engender nothing but death and destruction. In Chapter Three, Hannah Arendt's analysis of modernity's responses to the human condition is explored with emphasis on the void created as the political realm is subsumed by the social realm. In Chapter Four, Jean Baudrillard's critique of the social realm and its ultimate disappearance is examined. Finally, in concluding remarks an overview of Emmanuel Levinas's conceptions of the fundamental ethical relationship between self and Other is offered as an alternative starting point for future political discussions