Humanitarian values make liberal democracies more vulnerable to terrorism

Evidence

In contrast, fighting terrorism with military force involves two-sided moral disengagement. The use of physical force in self-defense is easy to justify morally. Counterterrorists bring moral disengagement into play in devising and executing their campaigns. However, such means pose more troublesome moral problems for democratic societies than for totalitarian ones. Totalitarian regimes have fewer constraints against using institutional power to crush internal dissent and to sacrifice individuals for the good of the state. They have few qualms about using unrestrained lethal force to combat terrorist threats. Terrorists can therefore wield greater power against nations that place a high value on human life and personal liberties. A commitment to humanitarian values limits the types of means that are morally acceptable and how they are used in self-defense. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2271 (#expands, via linked claim)

In contrast, fighting terrorism with military force involves two-sided moral disengagement. The use of physical force in self-defense is easy to justify morally. Counterterrorists bring moral disengagement into play in devising and executing their campaigns. However, such means pose more troublesome moral problems for democratic societies than for totalitarian ones. Totalitarian regimes have fewer constraints against using institutional power to crush internal dissent and to sacrifice individuals for the good of the state. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2271 (#expands, via linked claim)

If terrorism is to be defeated worldwide, societies must address the life conditions that drive people to take up deadly terroristic missions. This is a daunting challenge not amenable to quick fixes. More advantaged individuals who have been alienated and radicalized by embittering experiences in their efforts to promote the social changes they desire usually spearhead militant activism (Bandura, 1973; Sprinzak, 1990). In cultural milieus that hail suicide bombers as gaining blessed martyrdom, this mode of terrorism is institutionally embraced and socially applauded as divine retribution for the humiliation and suffering inflicted by the enemy (Lelyveld, 2001). Educational development with opportunities for a desired livelihood provide the best escape from poverty and cultivate national advancement in the social and economic challenges modern societies face. These personal and social resources enable individuals to find meaning and satisfaction in modern life. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2502 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Terrorism shook Western faith that welfare state reforms eliminate civil strife; Humanitarian constraints make democracies more vulnerable to terror than autocracies — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2271; Democratic moral constraints give terrorists strategic leverage over democracies — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2271 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Humanitarian constraints make democracies more vulnerable to terror than autocracies #expands (0.96) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2271
• Democratic moral constraints give terrorists strategic leverage over democracies #expands (0.93) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2271
• Terrorism is spearheaded by advantaged radicals, not the desperately poor #complicates (0.74) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2502