Globalization and Terrorism

One of the unintended consequences of globalization is the impact it has on societal cultures throughout the world; frequently this impact leads to the experience of 'death of a way of life', which further leads to a loss of cultural identity. Lionel Stapley explains why globalization is affecting the world in this way and the way that it leads to global terrorism. Muslim societies are perhaps the most different of all non-Western societies and they respond by aggressively rejecting Western values and way of life. The result is a dangerous conflict at the interface between the two cultures. This has an impact at the global level where groups and individuals are mobilized to commit large-scale terrorist acts such as 9/11, Bali, and Madrid. It also impacts upon individuals and groups where they come together in Western societies in what may be seen as a microcosm of the conflict between Western and Muslim cultures. This results in--and provides explanations for--incidents such as the publication of the cartoons in Denmark, the death of Theo van Gogh in Holland, and the bombings on 7/7 in Britain. In his exploration of the large and small impacts that globalization has on individuals and their psyches, the author attempts at all times to view this conflict from a pluralist perspectives that seeks to understand both 'ways of life'.