R.K. Singh asked: What is the difference between transnational terrorism and global terrorism?

Vivek Chadha

replies: The term terrorism whether prefixed with transnational or global has a more or less similar connotation, as in the case of any other structure or organisation. Transnational essentially means beyond a national boundary. On the other hand, global implies anything which has a global footprint. In illustrative terms, if we relate it to any industry or brand and say that it has developed a transnational footprint, it would imply that its operations and support structures extend beyond its country of origin. On the other hand, if it has a global reach then the organisation has its impact and influence globally. When this is related to terrorism, the term transnational terrorism implies the impact of terrorism from a particular country or region across the boundary of the country of origin. Terrorist groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) or Jaish-e-Mohmmed (JeM) exemplify what is regarded as transnational terrorism. Similarly, Daesh, often incorrectly termed as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS, represents global terrorism. As a global terrorist group, its supporters and affiliates have proved over time to have their reach across continents and countries with attacks taking place in a number of diverse locations worldwide. When global terrorism is used in isolation, without necessarily making any reference to a terrorist group, then it can also relate to a phenomenon or threat which has a global footprint. This is indeed the case with terrorism as a common security challenge. Posted on June 24, 2019 Views expressed are of the expert and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDSA or of the Government of IndiA. Vinod Kumar Vinod Kumar