Political factors can also lead to terrorism, a political cause of terrorism is western foreign policy.
Those committing terrorist attacks in europe tend to be partly motivated and radicalised in reaction to the foreign policy of the West. Islamist extermists, for example, want full removal of UK troops from the middle east and an end to the military actions that has affected many thousands of innocent muslims over the last 15 to 20 years.
The murder of the conersative MP Sir David Amess in 2021 was motivated by western foreign policy as he had voted for airstrikes in Syria which the terrorist Ali Harbi Ali blamed for the killing for the innocent muslims abroad.
This suggests that weetern foreign policy is a significant factor in motivating terrorists to plan conduct terrorist attacks as revenge for the wests actions oversea.
Howevee, despite western foreign policy being a major factor in causing terrorism, more terrorist attacks happen in the middle east by one islamist group against another than in the west.
According to the global terrorism index in 2024 over 90% of terrorists attacks and 98% of terrorism related deaths in 2023 occursd in conflict zones, underscoring the strong link between conflict and terrorism.
This data highlights that the majority of terrorist activites are concentrated in regions experiencing significant instability , rather than in western countries .
Nationalism can act as a political driver for terrorism by fostering a sense of identity and grievance among certain groups.
Nationalist groups may feel that their culture, language or autnomy is under threat from a large state or externl influence, prompting them to use violence to achieve political objectives such as self determination.
For instance, in recent years, nationalist tensions in Myanmar have been linked to terrorist attacks carried out by the Arakan Army which seeks greater autonomy for thr future ethnic group.
this hughlights how nationalism can create deep divisions within a state, escalating greivances into violence that u dermines stability and human security in the region.
However, many nationalist movements such as Scotlands push for independence have purused for peaceful and democratic means to achieve their goals, deomstrating their nationalism does not inherently lead to violence.
For example, despite nationalist aspirations, the scottish national party has consistently advocated for legal referendums rather than violent actions to pursue independece.
This shows that nationalism itself dows not inherently cause terrorism, it is often the lack of legitmate political avenues or additonal factors like inequality that can push nationalist movements toward violence.