on abortion clinics in the United States. Establishment terrorism
includes events like the Argentinian ‘dirty war’ referred to above.
States may sponsor terrorism in their own territory or outside it. The
United States has accused Iran, Iraq, the Lebanon, Sudan and Syria of
the latter. Conversely radical critics see the US as a major sponsor of
establishment terrorism in Latin America and the power whose
support of the anti-Russian Mujahedin in Afghanistan helped to
bring about the rise of Al Qaeda.
The rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan and of Al Qaeda and linked
terrorist groups elsewhere is a fascinating case of the multiple causes
of such movements. As well as the role of the USA in subsidising the
armed struggle against Russian invasion in Afghanistan, the role of
Saudi Wahhabists in subsidising madrasasor Islamic schools in
Pakistan and other parts of the South may also have been highly
significant. Saudi oil revenues have served to create Islamic schools
in many areas where they are often the only schools available to the
poor and which have served as recruiting grounds for politically and
theologically extreme movements (Lewis, 2003: 99).
As we have noted, the concept of terrorism has been a political
factor for many years. However, with George W. Bush’s announce-
ment of a ‘war on terrorism’ following the 9/11 bombing of the World
Trade Center in 2001, the meaning of terrorism for many people has
changed. A number of high-profile terrorist campaigns such as the
Bali bombs in 2002, the Madrid train bombing in 2004 and the 7/7
London bombings in 2006 have resulted in policy makers in many
countries placing a higher priority on countering what might be
termed fundamentalist revolutionaries, and those who might support
them. In response to this, many terrorist groups have made use of
modern communication channels such as television, video and the
Internet to promote their causes. Both developments represent a
significant change in the global understanding of terrorism.
Class conflict in the twenty-first century
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the disintegration of the East
European ‘Communist Bloc’ has generated the impression that
Marxism is a failed ideology. Certainly many Western former
communist parties have now dropped their titles and even their
claims to Marxist adherence. Yet it can be argued that Marxism
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