analyze a relevant topic in the history of terrorism until World War I.
seven scholarly references ARE required, fully cited. The bibliography, or list of references, does not count as a part of the ten typed pages, properly formatted, of substantive analysis. you are encouraged to focus your topic, then research widely, using library databases such as Google Scholar; Google Books; JSTOR, Lexis-Nexis, Springer, and EBSCO. Prominent scholarly periodicals such as the Journal of American History; Political Studies Quarterly; Peace & Change; Reviews in American History; and Human Rights Review.
Seven scholarly sources to be used in the research papers MUST be articles from various law reviews, or academic periodicals, or chapters from analytical books, written by different authors, each consisting of at least ten pages, in English, published since 2000.
Paper format: Comparative Annotated Bibliography:
Contrast various sources, referring to the context, basic and relevant facts, dates, and background about the people and movements involved, then similarly research the authors, their findings, and their conclusions. Research the topic for scholarly analysis. See who wrote about the topic. What is their background? Compare and contrast their differing or similar approaches. Then compare and contrast portions that relate to scholarly articles analyzing the same topic. Exact format is flexible as long as there is a substantive analysis. Facts like dates and names do not need citations. If, by contrast, you QUOTE or INTERPRET based on an outside source, then cite fully.
Annotated Bibliography
Akcam, Taner. A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2006.
As a Professor of History, Taner Akçam writes an authoritative text regarding the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and its efforts to free Armenians from the oppressive regime of the Ottoman Empire. The book, “A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility,” provides a detailed account of the attempts by the Ottoman authorities to totally or partially destroy the Armenian people. The book further details the loss of life that resulted from the cracks of the Armenians to free themselves from the oppression.
Balakian, Peter. The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response. New York: Harper Perennial, 2004.
Peter Balakian is another author with adequate knowledge of the events surrounding the Armenian Genocide and the response of the international community in stopping the killings. The book, “The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response” contains riveting details of the Armenian in the 1890s, including the reasons behind it, such as the “Raid on the Ottoman Bank”, on 26 August 1896. The book differs from Akçam’s text, which explains the event from the perspective of the Armenians.
Ganor, Boaz. “Defining Terrorism: Is one man’s Terrorist another man’s Freedom Fighter?” Police Practice and Research, vol. 3, no. 4, 2002, pp. 287-304.
Unlike the first two books, the article provides a working definition of the concept of terrorism. The author reveals the controversy inherent in defining the idea because some authors define the term from a revolutionary perspective. In contrast, others consider it a crime involving terror to achieve a political objective. The concept is necessary to define before exploring the history of terror leading up to World War 1.
Hoffman, Bruce. Inside Terrorism. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.
Just like Ganor, Bruce Hoffman provides authoritative information about the inside of terrorism to provide a detailed account of what counts as terrorism. The information is also necessary before exploring the history of terrorism up to World War 1. The author considers the international definition of the concept of terrorism, which is a working definition since it is universally accepted. From the definition, the rest of the exploration of the history of terrorism took shape.
Libaridian, Gerard J. Modern Armenia: People, Nation, State. Transaction Publishers, 2004.
While Gerard J. Libaridian is an Armenian historian, he differs from Akcam and Balakian since he served as a senior advisor to independent Armenia’s first president. He had a more detailed insight about the events surrounding the operations of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. In the book, “Modern Armenia: People, Nation, State,” the author reviews the making of modern Armenia, including politics and political thinking from the mid-19th century to-date. The book contains details of the events that led to the independence of Armenia, including the Occupation of the Ottoman Bank.
Ross, Jeffrey Ian. Political Terrorism: An Interdisciplinary Approach. New York: Peter Lang Press, 2006.
Unlike other authors, being a scholar, professor, and criminologist, Jeffrey Ian Ross provides a critical analysis of the topic of terrorism, including the controversy surrounding the definition of the concept. Unlike other definers of the term, Ross considers the historical background of the term, such as the revolutionary focus of terrorism. The information is in the book, Political Terrorism: An Interdisciplinary Approach helps to unravel the role of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation as a terrorist organization.
Young, Reuven. “Defining terrorism: The Evolution of Terrorism As a Legal Concept in International Law and Its Influence On Definitions In Domestic Legislation.” BC Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. vol. 29, 2006.
Like Ross and others, Reuven Young presents a working definition of the concept of terrorism to comprehend the history of the term and the activities that amount to an act of terror. “Defining terrorism: The evolution of terrorism as a legal concept in international law and its influence on definitions in domestic legislation” takes an international view of terrorism to present the generally accepted definition and the elements that account to a terror attack.
Armenian Nationalist Terrorism
Terrorism played an essential role in the Ottoman Empire until its decline in the wake of World War 1. In the period leading to the world war, numerous nationalist groups emerged and applied violence to oppose the Empire and compel it to give Armenia freedom. Some of the efforts of the groups contributed to the decline and the eventual fall of the Empire. One of the well-known groups that used terrorist tactics against the Ottoman Empire was the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. The founder of the “Federation” in Tiflis was Christapor Mikaelian in 1890. He drew the largest part of its membership from the Hunchakian Revolutionary Party (Balakian 104). The group used terrorist tactics to compel the Ottoman Empire to cease control over the Armenian territories. Although the group sought Europe’s support to achieve the objective, its actions, such as the Ottoman Bank’s occupation, cast it as a terrorist group, forming an essential part of the history of terrorism before World War 1.
Defining Terrorism
Although violence is prominent in almost all parts of the world, many instances are motivated for various reasons. The motivation behind a group’s activities and their tactics to achieve the objective may set aside terrorism from other groups or movements. Many experts are convinced that the objective and internationally-agreeable definition of the concept is hard to agree on. For example, while one group could be a terrorist organization, to some, it can be a freedom-fighting faction (Ganor 387). As a result, the subjective outlook of the definer determines the definition of the concept of terrorism. The international law and principles determine the internationally accepted definition of terrorism depending on the acceptable standards of justified war between states. However, the challenge emerges in conflicts between nongovernmental organizations and states, depending on the objective and the tactics they use to compel the other to achieve it. Hence, it is necessary to determine the difference between guerrilla warfare and terrorism, standard in compelling states to comply.
International organizations involved in the fight against terrorism provide working definitions of the concept. For example, the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council are among the organizations that define the concept in their resolutions relating to terrorism (Young 23). The definition concerns critical elements that should be available for an act of violence to be considered a terrorist act. The first element is the perpetration of a violent or criminal act, such as hostage-taking, killing, or arson or a threat of such an act. The second element intends to cause or spread fear among the target population to coerce an international or national authority to refrain from or take action. According to Hoffman, the third element is the involvement of a transnational component (51). Thus, the definition determines the event in history until World War 1, such as the Ottoman Bank occupation that amounts to terrorism. The event used violence to spread fear in the Ottoman Empire to compel it to cease control over the Armenian territories.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation fits the definition of a terrorist organization, although some definers might consider it a group that fought for Armenia’s independence. The movement was created in the late 19th century as part of the attempts to free the regions of Armenia that were occupied by the Ottoman Empire and address the oppression against the people. Some of their activities were aimed at changing the Armenians’ situation, who suffered oppression in the hands of the Ottoman Empire and free their lands under its control. During the time, small groups emerged to pursue the objective of freeing the territories from the Ottoman Empire’s influence. Three revolutionists, Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian, realized the need to unite the small groups to form one influential group that would hasten the efforts to achieve independence. Therefore, in 1890, the “Armenian Revolutionary Federation” was created out of the smaller ones, which later became the “Armenian Revolutionary Federation” (Libaridian 4). Although the group emerged as a political party, it engaged in terrorist activities to achieve its mission. The group used violence to compel the Ottoman Empire to cease control over the Armenian territories.
The Occupation of the Ottoman Bank
The “Raid on the Ottoman Bank,” on 26 August 1896, is one of the acts of terrorism that the Armenian Revolutionary Federation undertook. The event is considered one of the first recorded urban terror attacks involving the three elements of terrorism, violence, fear, and transnational element. Furthermore, the event was among the critical aspects contributing to the “Armenian Question,” a chain of events meant to gain freedom for Armenia. The people had persevered years of oppression in the hands of the Ottoman Empire and felt that it was the time to gain their freedom (Libaridian 5). Armenians had made other attempts to attract the attention of the Empire and the international community without success. However, when they took over the bank, the event created a real catalyst for the British and French governments to intervene in the situation. The Ottoman capital also took an interest in the situation due to its impact on its economic stability. Members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation wanted to cause chaos in the capital, hoping that the international press would air the event and attract the European governments’ attention.
Members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation raided the Ottoman bank to compel the authority to cease control over the Armenian territories. Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s members conducted the Ottoman Bank’s raid in Istanbul, the Ottoman Empire’s capital. The terrorist event was conducted by a 17-year-old Babken Suni, who led other organization members to perpetuate the raid. During the event, the team of twenty-eight members captured the Imperial Ottoman Bank and demanded the fulfillment of their mission (Ross 34). The group appealed to gain European support to end the Hamidian massacres. Besides, the group demanded the independence of Armenia and the establishment of an Armenian state. Although the group did not continue with a threat to blow up the bank, they committed a terrorist act to cause fear among the target population and compel the target authorities to fulfill their demands. Overall, their plan would be aired by the international press to reach the target authorities.
Background and Planning
Terrorists plan their attacks for months and even years before they finally execute the attack to increase their chances of success. For example, they select their target carefully to ensure that they achieve the most significant impact on their objective. Some experts claim that the attack was instigated by the need to gain freedom, which is true, but the group’s actions amounted to terrorism. The Armenian were persecuted for forcing them to assimilate into the Ottoman Empire. Although they disagreed with the attempts and preferred to live separately from Muslims, their lives were complicated due to heavy taxes and downgrading that the Ottoman authority subjected them to. As a result, many of the Armenians were dissatisfied with the persecution and the ill-treatment and focused on protecting their rights (Ross 34). They were prepared to take any action possible to defend themselves from further ill-treatment and gain their independence. In turn, the Ottoman authority opposed the resistance since it considered it a threat to its power. Sultan Hamid, the Ottoman Empire leader, ordered the massacre of Armenians in the Hamidian massacres (Akcam 42). The Armenian Revolutionary Federation committed the terrorist acts to stop further killings of the Armenians.
The “Raid on the Ottoman Bank” was a carefully planned terror attack against the Ottoman Empire to stop the Armenians’ massacres and gain independence for the people. Papken Siuni masterminded the plan to raid the bank to compel the world powers, especially in Europe, to intervene and save Armenia. Hrach Tiryakian assisted Siuni in operation to take over the bank, which would hurt the Ottoman the most and compel the international community to intervene (Akcam 42). The terrorists and members of the movement gave flowers to the Ottoman public, making it clear that they had not waged war against them, but against the oppressive regime that was killing Armenians. They had a strategic plan to raid the financial institution, which held a huge amount of treasuries from Europe and would force them to act. The group knew that property destruction would cause significant losses that would compel the international community to intervene. The group committed terror by raiding the financial institution to compel the authority to comply, having a strategic plan to help Armenians from the Ottoman Empire’s oppression.
The choice of the Ottoman Bank for the raid was a strategic action due to its employees and its impact on the international community. The group knew that such a move would help them to achieve their objective. Most of the employers of the bank were Europeans from Great Britain and France. Therefore, since most of the hostages were Europeans and would lose their property, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation members believed that the European community would act hastily to save the situation. The group was dissatisfied with the European governments’ inaction regarding the Hamidian massacres and the oppression that the Ottoman Empire leadership continued to perpetrate against the Armenians (Akcam 42). Besides, Armenians had, for a long time, resisted the oppression, which the international community disregarded. Members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation believed that the raid was the only way to create awareness among the international community regarding their suffering. Besides, the bank was, at the time, a financial hub for the European nations and the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, they targeted a place in which their act of terror would have the most significant impact.
The Raid
Members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation organized the raid and seized the bank on Wednesday, 26 August 1896. The act was terrorist since the raiders were armed with pistols and grenades, ready to attack and create fear to compel the Ottoman Empire leadership and the international community to free the Armenians from oppression. Papken Siuni led the group that occupied and attacked the Ottoman Bank of Constantinople to send the message to the target authority. The terrorists accessed the bank through the great wall armed with dynamic bombs, revolvers, and daggers and ready to attack. They had separated themselves in smaller groups, one of which shot at a guard barring their entry into the building. The incident triggered a shootout between the Armenian Revolutionary Federation members and the security forces guarding the bank (Balakian 105). In the course of the attempt to occupy the bank, a number of the terrorists, among them Papken Siuni, were killed. Garo assumed the role of leading the group to facilitate the raid. Regardless of the shootings, the group was committed to achieve the objective and send the message to the Empire and the international community.
The strategic raid was motivated by political objectives, including releasing the Armenians from oppression and giving them independence from the Ottoman Empire. As a result, they held many hostages at the bank and made it clear that they would execute all of them if the target governments failed to meet their demands. They dictated their political will and had a list of demands that they wanted the Empire’s leadership and the European governments to fulfill for them to free the hostages (Akcam 42). While the hostage situation was a typical terrorist attack, the group perpetrated the attack to cause fear among the Ottoman Empire members and pressure them to stop oppressing Armenians. They also clarified their political interests that led them to the attack, and as long as they remained unmet, they confirmed that they continue the raid and kill their hostages one by one. The members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation were not afraid of the retaliatory attacks that would have killed them or arrested them for prosecution as long as they achieved their goals. The seizure went on for 14 hours and resulted in the killing of tens of Armenian members and Ottoman soldiers.
Mob Violence
Members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation hoped that the event would be reported in the international press to attract the necessary attention and help them achieve their objectives. Hence, they used the occasion to demand the necessary attention for the “Armenian Question” and anticipated that the British and French armada would militarily intervene in Constantinople. Like the Armenian Revolutionary Federation members expected, the news of the Ottoman Bank’s raid reached the target audience. As soon as it happened, softas (students from the theological seminaries) bearing iron staves and bludgeons gathered in different parts of the city. For at least 30 hours, they killed many Armenians in Constantinople to compel the raiders to release the hostages (Balakian 105). Most of those killed in the retaliatory attack were Armenian men, few women, and children. Regardless of the Armenians’ attacks, the Ottoman Bank’s initial attack and the hostage situation was an urban terror act.
Negotiations
Negotiations have always been an essential part of a terror attack involving hostage situations or when peoples’ lives are endangered. The Armenians sent a letter to leading powers in Europe demanding that the leadership of the Ottoman Empire met their demands, including freeing their lands and stopping further massacre. They further demanded a solution to the Armenian Question, which would be given to an international judge for implementation (Balakian 106). Besides, they declared their intention to blow up themselves and the whole building if their demands were unmet. The Ottoman public also received a manifesto that demanded Armenians’ freedom, who had suffered violence for many years. The Armenians wanted to persuade the Sultan and the Ottoman about the milestone, which they wanted to achieve, such as peace and protection for Armenians from further oppression and persecution. The raid gave them an upper hand to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire and the European powers.
The occupation proceeded for hours, with the Armenian raiders committed to remaining in the bank to achieve their objective. After 14 hours, the Ottoman government and the international community persuaded the attackers to leave the bank and release hostages. The government had made efforts to control the bank by welcoming the intervention of ambassadors of Europe. The effort of various local and international leaders, such as the Russian consul Maxmiov and the Lord of Abernon, the bank’s leader, convinced the terrorists to surrender and release hostages. The raiders were confident that their demands would be met and that they would be safe to leave the bank (Balakian 108). Sir Edgar’s secretary had tried to convince them that their terrorist action would separate the Europeans and lead to Armenians’ deadly massacre. Although the negotiators assured them that they would be pardoned and free to leave the city, the raiders replied that their death would make them martyrs and patriots
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation achieved their objective, though partly, by engaging in the act of terror. They managed to gain the attention of the international community, especially major European powers. The international media aired the event to reach the target governments to act on the situation, mainly to ensure that the hostages were safe while the bank’s properties were protected. Regardless of the violence and brutality that the Armenians endured during the raid, the event went down history as one of the well-known urban terror events in its recent history. The Armenians were fighting for a good cause, including the need to free the Armenian territories from the Ottoman Empire’s influence. The attackers engaged in a specific terror event to compel the Empire leadership and the European powers to meet their interests. Although the fall of the Empire did not happen immediately, the event was among the most critical aspect that contributed to its decline.
Conclusion
One of the incidents that mark the history of terrorists leading to World War 1 was the Ottoman Bank’s occupation. Although the Armenian Revolutionary Federation could be argued to be a revolutionary movement committed to change, the raid on the bank was an act of terrorism. The raid occurred in Istanbul, the capital city of the Ottoman Empire. The leaders of the Empire had taken over most of the territories of Armenia and oppressed its people. As a result, on 26 August 1896, 28 armed Armenian men and women raided the Ottoman bank to compel the leading European powers to take action and help to gain freedom for Armenia. Papken Siuni and Armen Garo led the Armenian Revolutionary Federation group to cease the bank, take hostages, and even destroy property to create fear among the target governments and compel them to act. Regardless of the possible retaliatory attacks, the group was committed to achieving its political objective and even made it clear that they would kill all hostages if their demands were not met.
Works Cited
Akcam, Taner. A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2006.
Balakian, Peter. The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response. New York: Harper Perennial, 2004. p.104.
Ganor, Boaz. “Defining Terrorism: Is One Man’s Terrorist Another Man’s Freedom Fighter?” Police Practice and Research, vol. 3, no. 4, 2002, pp. 287-304.
Hoffman, Bruce. Inside Terrorism. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.
Libaridian, Gerard J. (2004). Modern Armenia: People, Nation, State. Transaction Publishers.
Ross, Jeffrey Ian. Political Terrorism: An Interdisciplinary Approach. New York: Peter Lang Press, 2006.
Young, Reuven. “Defining Terrorism: The Evolution of Terrorism as A Legal Concept in International Law and Its Influence on Definitions in Domestic Legislation.” BC Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. vol. 29, 2006, p. 23.
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