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Ever since the attacks on 9/11 and the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, the face of evil has reared its head in many different ways in the modern world.  But today, what forms of terrorism are found across the globe? 

First, we must define what terrorism actually is. For simplicity’s sake, it will be broken down into two separate types of terrorism. 

International terrorism: Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups who are inspired by, or associated with, designated foreign terrorist organizations or nations (state-sponsored).

Domestic terrorism: Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.

Having defined what terrorism is, have we seen a downturn in overall rates of terrorism?

The answer: a resounding yes.

The amount of terrorism is actually decreasing, thanks in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Our World in Data, terrorist attacks have gone down in America by over 25%.  While America might be experiencing a significant downturn in terrorist, other nations are experiencing increasing rates of terrorism at speeds never before. For instance, the recent riots in France.  The country had seen multiple mob mentality actions provoke police into full blown riots. Although this does not constitute a terrorist attack per se, it shows just how dangerous our world has become, even in nations where terrorism has had a deadly past. 

Conclusion

Can we rely on the rates of terrorism to continually decrease? No. But, what we can rely on is that as the world progresses, people will start to see the problems in society that cause these issues.