ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the concept of structural violence developed by Johan Galtung, and combine it with an understanding of imperialism by the application of force. It explains the possible root causes of international terrorism, stemming particularly from the Middle East. The mere labelling of the incidents of Madrid and New York as terrorism hint at an understanding of imperialism, terrorism can be understood as a violent action from within a societal order against the very same in order to attack or even overthrow the ruling elites. Imperialism is characterised as a feudal structure with one centre and peripheries. The relationship between them is one of structural violence. Structural violence is dangerous as it lead regularly to direct violence. Structural violence is defined as the cause of the difference between the potential and the actual. Attitudes of Muslims and Arabs in the Middle East are hard to measure in the absence of reliable or consistent polling data.
