A father and son, motivated by antisemitic beliefs, executed a terrorist attack on 14 December 2025 at Bondi Beach in Australia, killing 15 innocent civilians. The 21st century has experienced a sharp rise in such isolated attacks by individual perpetrators or small groups. With these increasingly frequent isolated attacks, contemporary terrorism has evolved into a new and more complex dimension.
Terrorism, or the use of violence and intimidation against civilians, has a long and tragic history. Its rapid and multidimensional evolution has made the term ‘terrorism’ almost a day-to-day word. Incidents such as the Bondi Beach attack can occur anywhere at any time, leaving even societies traditionally considered physically safe under a shadow of fear.
Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that we all, as a global community, have become potential victims of various forms of terrorism. As victims, it is essential to be aware of these threats and to be prepared to confront these challenges. Thus, this article aims to explore some of the contemporary dynamics of terrorism and the challenges it presents.
What is terrorism?
The absence of a global consensus as to what constitutes terrorism is one of the key hindrances to curb terrorism. Different states, organisations, and individuals have defined terrorism based on their own interests and perspectives.
Perhaps the most quoted phrase about terrorism is, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” This statement itself is perception-based, highlighting the inherent complexity of terrorism.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights prescribes a model definition, stating: “Terrorism involves the intimidation or coercion of populations or governments through the threat or perpetration of violence, causing death, serious injury, or the taking of hostages.” This definition comprehensively covers most of the aspects related to terrorism.
Accordingly, it is generally accepted that terrorism is characterised by its political nature, the use of violence to create fear or intimidation, and the targeting of civilians.
Different perspectives of terrorism
Terrorism can be viewed through different perspectives and having an understanding of these different viewpoints can provide us with a better chance to prevent it, or if not, to fight it. Among many approaches, there are a few key perspectives which would assist better comprehension of modern dynamics of terrorism. These include the underlying causes of terrorism, whether motivated or directed, its regional spread, and intended effects.
The ‘cause’ perspective is a prominent approach to understand terrorism. Weisburd and Feucht (2009) identify two major schools of thought that explain the causes of terrorism: the ‘psychological-sociological’ approach and the ‘political-rational’ approach. Psychological-sociological theory focuses more on social and individual behaviour dynamics. The religious cult Aum Shinrikyo, which launched the 1995 sarin gas attack in Japan, is an example of such a terrorist group.
In contrast, the political-rational concept is based on causes such as political and rational dynamism. Groups such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Islamic State (ISIS) fit into this category. In most cases, the political-rational organisations are typically better organised Non-State Armed Groups (NSAGs) with clearly stated political objectives such as the creation of a separate state as in the case of the LTTE, or the creation of a global Islamic caliphate in the case of the ISIS. Their rationale is rooted in the perceived illegitimacy of the status quo and the intention to replace it.
The ‘drive’ perspective defines whether terrorist acts are influenced or directed. Within this framework, we should be clear about the concept of ‘lone wolves,’ referring to individuals who are motivated by terrorist acts or narratives and commit terror acts on their own. These incidents are categorised as terrorist-influenced attacks.
The attack itself is a tactical action for the motivated individual, but for the NSAG which inspires these individuals, it is a strategy. These NSAGs deliberately spread various ideological contents and narratives, particularly through social media, to radicalise individuals. They do not necessarily know whom they influence.
Hundreds and thousands of social media users follow NSAG-generated content, become influenced, and depending on their mindset, motivation, social factors, and access to weapons, independently choose their targets, time, and mode of attack. Commonly, they do not have direct links with the parent NSAG. These lone wolves can be considered a serious security threat, as they cannot be controlled even by their creators.
While such individuals are called lone wolves, small groups which conduct terrorist-influenced attacks are termed as small cells. As per news sources, the Bondi attacker duo was motivated by an Islamic State group, and it serves as an example of a small cell.
On the other hand, terrorist-directed attacks are more organised and purposeful. Many terrorist attacks conducted across the globe are directed and controlled by NSAGs. Al-Qaeda, ISIS, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the LTTE are such NSAGs which have conducted terrorist-directed attacks, including suicide bombings, assassinations, etc.
The ‘regional’ perspective is another viewpoint on terrorism. When analysing the patterns, frequencies, and acts of terrorism, it can be observed that most of the terrorist-influenced attacks are conducted in Western countries or, in a different connotation, in the Global North. A key reason for this is the wider access to technology and the internet. Some scholars opine that liberal social dynamics, which uphold individual liberties above social security, contribute to this trend.
Often, in the Global North, there are far less organised terrorist groups or NSAGs. Therefore, NSAGs motivate vulnerable individuals in this region to launch their attacks independently. On the other hand, most of the terrorist-directed attacks take place in the Global South where NSAGs are better organised and established, having capabilities of launching large-scale attacks and even controlling geographical regions.
At present, the African Sahel region is considered the ‘global epicentre of terrorism.’ The common feature of this ‘epicentre’ is that it has consistently been located within the Global South. Another perception-based concept, this ‘epicentre’ has shifted over time from South Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, and South America to Africa. The major reason for this is the prevalence of social conditions for political-rational patterns to thrive.
Out of all the above viewpoints on terrorism, the most prominent is the ‘effect’ perspective or intended effects of terrorist acts. In many cases, the intention is to achieve widespread propaganda for a NSAG. We can see most insurgencies use terrorism to gain widespread publicity and quick control in their initial phases as a tactic. However, some insurgent groups, such as ISIS and the LTTE, kept on perpetrating terrorism, using it for strategic purposes. For these groups, terrorism represented a logic rather than a mere tool.
The continued use of terrorism even after advancing into conventional-style outfits is a key feature of such NSAGs. Often, these NSAGs make terrorism a structural component. A prominent example are the LTTE’s Black Tigers, a unit entirely comprised of suicide cadre. Such attempts create hybrid warfare conditions by blending regular and irregular tactics. Moreover, the sustained use of terrorism creates complex battle conditions favourable for the NSAGs to fight superior state forces by using asymmetric warfare.
Contemporary examples
What is the strategic use of terrorism for a NSAG? Let us take a few contemporary examples, focusing mostly on the LTTE.
The LTTE continued to use terrorism to achieve many purposes, apart from propaganda. One of the key objectives was to demarcate and consolidate its claimed territory. Indiscriminate violence was used against civilians in areas adjacent to its claimed territories by the LTTE. These systematic attacks created so-called ‘border villages’ or ‘threatened villages’ in areas such as Polonnaruwa, Weli Oya, Batticaloa, and Ampara.
Apart from the attacks against villages near the aforementioned adjacent areas, the LTTE systematically used violence to expel Sinhala and Muslim communities from their claimed areas. In a bid to this effect, in the 1990s, the LTTE ordered thousands of Muslims to leave the Jaffna Peninsula within 48 hours.
These are acts of ethnic cleansing and forced displacement which are strategic outcomes achieved through terrorism. Similarly, ISIS used terrorism for ethnic cleansing in northern Iraq, where it systematically eliminated communities which did not identify themselves with extreme religious views, particularly in 2014.
The systematic elimination of leaders was another key terrorist act of the LTTE, with significant strategic effects. These acts can be categorised into two. First was the assassination of Tamil militant leaders and the second was the killing of national political leaders.
The LTTE eliminated most of its fellow armed group leaders. These killings can be seen as a strategy to consolidate itself as the ‘sole representative of Tamil people.’ The systematic elimination of political and community leaders by the LTTE was conducted for a far graver reason, which was to weaken the nation. They targeted prominent Tamil national-level leaders such as Lakshman Kadirgamar, A. Amirthalingam, Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam, and many others, causing significant and long-term damage to the Tamil community and the nation as a whole.
National leaders, including then President R. Premadasa, Lalith Athulathmudali, Gamini Dissanayake, and many more were also assassinated by the LTTE. The loss of all these national leaders created a long-term leadership vacuum in Sri Lanka. The LTTE also attempted to assassinate former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga while in office. Similarly, the TTP is accused of assassinating former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto and Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) is also accused of conducting a leadership targeting campaign in 2005.
These are terrorist acts with strategic effects.
Attacking strategic targets is another act of terrorism committed by modern NSAGs. The LTTE conducted such attacks against economic, industrial, and transport nerve centres of Sri Lanka such as the Central Bank, oil refineries, the Bandaranaike International Airport, etc. All these attacks were conducted with the motive of destabilising the country, economically and industrially.
The LTTE also attacked targets of a cultural nature. The attacks conducted against the devotees at the Anuradhapura Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in 1985 and the sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy in 1998 are some examples. These acts of terrorism were conducted with different motives. In the short- and medium-term, propaganda was intended. However, the long-term motives were multifold.
One was to agitate the majority population and create ethnic tensions, which eventually could be exploited in information operations. The other motive was to directly attack the psyche of the population to intimidate it in order to achieve the organisation’s objective of separatism.
Therefore, attacking strategic targets by using terrorist tactics was intended to intimidate, create societal tensions, destabilise society, pressure the government, and to weaken the economy, apart from achieving a mere propaganda advantage.
Counter-strategies
There are numerous shades of terrorism and infinite possibilities for a terrorist. Unlike in the past, terror acts are not perpetrated only through well-organised groups anymore. Due to versatile propaganda tools, narrative-driven social conditions, and vulnerable individuals, terrorist-influenced attacks by lone wolves or small cells form a pervasive threat. The more organised terrorist-directed attacks also cannot be ruled out.
Owing to this, terrorism has become a significant non-traditional security threat, making counterterrorism a vital national security consideration for all states of the world.
To formulate a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy, several core areas can be highlighted, among many. The foremost is defining terrorism and having an inclusive legislation to prevent and counter terrorism. Effective intelligence and relentless surveillance are equally critical aspects of such a strategy. Externally, international collaboration is important, and domestically, states should ensure effective networking among all relevant stakeholders.
Awareness at all levels and effective information operations are essential, including countering anti-state or extremist narratives. The most important feature of an effective counterterrorism strategy is to be proactive. Terrorists largely rely on the element of surprise and the unwary nature of society, which we need to guard against.
Essentially, humanity needs to get together and do everything possible to defeat terrorism in all its forms. As Edmund Burke once observed, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
(The writer is an officer with the Sri Lanka Armoured Corps and is currently a Directing Staff at the Defence Services Command and Staff College in Sapugaskanda)
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the official position of this publication)