Source: Discussion Board / Lecture Notes
Difficulty: Introductory | Prerequisites: None. Basic familiarity with social psychology concepts (group identity, social influence) is helpful but not required.
This unit sits within the broader Psychology II study of human aggression, group behaviour, and social influence. It asks a specific question: why do people turn to terrorism? The answer draws on poverty, religious extremism, social inequality, and environmental activism as overlapping motivational categories. You should already be comfortable with basic concepts of in-group/out-group dynamics and social identity theory from earlier units; this material builds on those foundations and applies them to political violence.
Terrorism is driven by a mix of poverty, religious extremism, and social inequality (racism, wealth gaps). Single-issue grievances like economic disparity and racial injustice are increasingly more common drivers than religion alone. Eco-terrorism is a distinct category where individuals or groups threaten environmental destruction to coerce governments, and media plays a central role in amplifying those demands.
Religious extremism
The use of religious doctrine to justify acts of violence or coercion against those perceived as enemies of the faith.
In simple terms, this means interpreting a religion's teachings in a way that endorses or demands violence.
Social inequality
Systemic disparities in wealth, opportunity, or treatment among different groups within a society, including racism, ethnic discrimination, and economic stratification.
Think of it as the gap between how different groups are treated, whether by income, race, or access to resources.
Single-issue terrorism (single-based terrorism)
Terrorism motivated by one specific grievance, such as racial injustice, economic inequality, or environmental policy, rather than a broad religious or political ideology.
In simple terms, the attacker has one central cause they care about, not a sweeping worldview.
Faith-based terrorism
Terrorism in which the perpetrator claims religious belief as the primary justification for violence.
Think of it as political violence wrapped in religious language, though scholars note the underlying motives are often political or economic.
Eco-terrorism (green terrorism / environmental terrorism)
The destruction of, or threat to destroy, environmental resources by individuals or groups in order to coerce civilians, organisations, or governments into meeting specific demands.
In simple terms, using environmental damage (or the threat of it) as a weapon to force political concessions.
Poverty and economic disparity
Most of the world's population falls on the lower end of the global wealth scale.
Individuals at the poverty level may perceive the wealthy class as living "unfairly comfortably," fuelling resentment that can escalate to violence.
Growing wealth gaps increase the probability of protest and, at the extreme, political violence.
Religious extremism
Believers of certain faiths have historically used religious doctrine to justify violence (Pinto, 2019; Cordesman, 2017).
Islam has been disproportionately associated with terrorism in public discourse, though this is a contested generalisation.
Social inequality: racism and ethnic division
Racism against African Americans and Asian Americans in the United States is cited as a persistent source of grievance.
Movements responding to racial injustice (e.g. Black Lives Matter) can, in some analyses, be linked to conditions that also produce political violence.
Single-issue terrorism is projected to grow faster globally than faith-based terrorism.
The contemporary world's most pressing grievances (economic inequality, racial injustice, environmental destruction) are secular, not religious.
Many actors who appear to fight religious wars are, on closer inspection, using religion as a cover for political or economic motives (Stanton, 2021).
Definition: destruction or threatened destruction of environmental resources to coerce civilians, organisations, or governments.
Also called green terrorism or environmental terrorism.
Economic impact: deters investors, who avoid regions perceived as unstable.
Role of media: eco-terrorist groups use social media and mainstream outlets to broadcast demands globally, which amplifies their reach and perceived legitimacy.
Students often assume terrorism is primarily religious. It is not. Single-issue grievances (economic, racial, environmental) are increasingly the dominant drivers.
Students sometimes treat "eco-terrorism" as terrorism committed against the environment. The term actually refers to using environmental destruction (or its threat) as a coercive tool, not violence aimed at nature for its own sake.
It is common to conflate poverty with terrorism directly. Poverty is a contributing social factor, not a cause on its own. Most people living in poverty do not engage in violence.
Students may assume that media coverage of terrorism is neutral reporting. In the context of eco-terrorism especially, media serves as a strategic amplifier for the groups themselves.
⚠️ Be able to name and explain at least three social factors contributing to terrorism (poverty, religious extremism, social inequality).
⚠️ Know the difference between single-issue and faith-based terrorism, and be prepared to argue which is more likely to increase globally.
⚠️ Define eco-terrorism precisely, including its alternative names (green terrorism, environmental terrorism).
⚠️ Explain how media functions as a tool for eco-terrorist groups, not just as a reporter of events.
True or False: Religious extremism is the fastest-growing category of terrorism globally.
False. Single-issue terrorism is projected to grow faster.
Fill in the blank: Eco-terrorism is also known as ____ terrorism or ____ terrorism.
Green; environmental.
True or False: Poverty alone is a sufficient cause of terrorism.
False. Poverty is a contributing factor, not a standalone cause.
Fill in the blank: Eco-terrorist groups use ____ to broadcast their demands and reach a global audience.
Media (social media and mainstream media).
True or False: According to Stanton (2021), most terrorists who appear to fight religious wars are using religion as a cover for other motives.
True.
Q: Identify three social factors that contribute to terrorism and briefly explain each.
A: Poverty (resentment of wealth disparity can radicalise those at the bottom of the economic scale), religious extremism (interpreting faith as justification for violence), and social inequality (racism and ethnic discrimination create grievances that can escalate to political violence).
Q: Why is single-issue terrorism expected to increase more than faith-based terrorism?
A: Because the most pressing contemporary grievances, such as economic inequality, racial injustice, and environmental destruction, are secular. Many actors who appear religiously motivated are using faith as a cover for political or economic goals.
Q: Define eco-terrorism and explain how media contributes to its effectiveness.
A: Eco-terrorism is the destruction or threatened destruction of environmental resources to coerce civilians, organisations, or governments. Media contributes by broadcasting the groups' demands to a global audience via social media and mainstream outlets, amplifying their reach far beyond the local impact of the act itself.
Q: What is the economic impact of eco-terrorism on affected regions?
A: It deters investment. Investors avoid regions perceived as unstable, which weakens the local economy and can compound the grievances that produced the terrorism in the first place.
Q: According to Stanton (2021), what is the relationship between religion and terrorist motivation?
A: Most terrorists who appear to be fighting religious wars are using religion as a cover. Their underlying motivations are more often political or economic.
This connects to social identity theory (Units 1-2) because in-group/out-group dynamics underpin how grievance groups form and radicalise. The poverty and inequality drivers tie directly to relative deprivation theory in social psychology: people become aggressive not when they are objectively poor, but when they perceive a gap between what they have and what they believe they deserve. The media amplification angle in eco-terrorism also links to persuasion and attitude change topics, since understanding how messages spread and influence audiences is central to both advertising psychology and terrorist recruitment.
terrorist motivations, social factors terrorism, poverty and terrorism, religious extremism, faith-based terrorism, single-issue terrorism, eco-terrorism, green terrorism, environmental terrorism, social inequality and violence, racism and political violence, wealth gap radicalisation, media and terrorism, relative deprivation, in-group out-group dynamics, Psychology II FIU, Unit 3 discussion board, Cordesman 2017, Pinto 2019, Stanton 2021