By Josh LaVoie
If there is one thing that virtually everyone has an opinion on, it’s terrorism.
With nearly limitless theories on the roots and justifications for terrorism, along with its potential cures, making sense of it has proved difficult for many scholars. That is however exactly what the University of Calgary Center for Military and Strategic Studies is attempting to do with its lecture series “Terrorism in the Contemporary World.”
The series will provide the university community with input from many of this country’s best thinkers on the subject.
“We’re trying to get as many viewpoints as possible” said Political Science professor Dr. Barry Cooper. “We’re inviting many different people.”
The first lecture in the series was presented by Cooper Thu., Oct. 7. Attended by a varied group of 30-40 people ranging from students to professors, the lecture presented the concept that the world was divided into two sections known as the “core” and the “gap.”
“The gap–these are the losers in the globalization equation,” said Cooper illustrating the relationship.
The lecture went on to suggest that the current conflict is between the first or connected world, and the third world.
“War is not just about war, it is about politics, and politics is about everything else,” Cooper indicated, as he continued describing the origins of the conflict.
Resistance to becoming connected and adapting to the first-world culture through this globalization process was suggested as the root to most modern terrorism.
“The terrorists, like any other human beings think they are carrying out meaningful work,” continued Cooper. “It is not going to go away.”
The Terrorism in the Contemporary World lecture series continues Fri., Oct. 22 when Dr. Frank Harvey from Dalhousie University will present “Smoke and Mirrors: Globalized Terrorism and the Illusion of Multilateral Security.”