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KMID : 0385320070180020163
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Journal of Korean Psychoanalytic Society
2007 Volume.18 No. 2 p.163 ~ p.173
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On Terrorism
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Hwang Ik-Keun
Yang Jong-Chul
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Abstract
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Though terrorism has a long history, it has become a worldwide issue since the Sep. 11 terrorist attack on The World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC in 2001. The terrorism has been a growing concern in the field of psychoanalysis, psychiatry and other related disciplines. The July 2007 tragedy in which an Afghan terrorist group kidnapped 23 Korean hostages and killed two of them indicates that acts of terrorism are not limited to just a few specific superpowers or specific religious countries and that terrorism has most certainly become a global issue. Terrorism can be defined as an act of violence organized by a group of terrorists and committed against citizens of an enemy country in order to achieve certain political or ideological objectives, though a number of issues have been raised regarding the definition of terrorism. Recently, domestic terrorist actions, such as indiscriminant school shootings, have also been classified as acts of terrorism in the United States. Although there have been very few psychoanalytical studies of terrorists, there is evidence that most of the major players in terrorist organizations are deeply traumatized individuals. As children they suffered chronic physical abuse and profound emotional humiliation. They externalize or project their traumatic experiences and try to manipulate and destroy other people as a defense against their own deep-seated trauma. They are malignantly narcissistic in a way. They are aggressive and violent, which reinforces their already unstable psychological boundaries. They manage to maintain self-identity and build stable interpersonal relationships by being aggressive and violent towards other people. They seem to have serious problems in terms of the separation individuation process, and their anxiety about separation issues has not been overcome throughout the course of their lives. They seem to be fixated at the paranoid-schizoid position and are unable to proceed far enough into the depressive position to reflect upon themselves and repair the damage already done to their unconscious minds. All bad things are externalized or projected onto other people or the enemy. The self is regarded as the victim, and the other is regarded as an oppressor. Terrorism and war are derivatives of destructive human nature, as Freud once remarked in his correspondence to Einstein. It is suggested that we should keep trying to divert it to such an extent that they need not find their expression in terrorism and war. Anything that encourages the growth of emotional ties between men and whatever fosters the growth of civilization will aid in combating terrorism and war, which is a prescription offered by Freud for the endless human ailment.
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KEYWORD
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Terrorism, Violence, Psychopathology
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