As globalization spreads the benefits of free trade, mass communications, global economy, technological innovations and democratic culture; international crime and terrorists have been exploiting the rapid changes in technology, trade and finance with the purpose of creating new mechanisms for trafficking, contraband and laundering money that will assure their goals and also would involve legitimate businesses to become engaged in terrorist activities that would facilitate terrorist intervention to comply with social and economic necessities in precarious underdeveloped countries in order to assure a safe haven for their illegal and terrorist activities in exchange for loyalty.

Under this scope, the globalization process traced a clear path for terrorist to follow as new states emerged to the international arena; states with poor governance and strong conflicts in the ethnic, cultural and religious area with weak economies that are trying to cope with the new rules within the world economy are the main targets of terrorist organizations that are seeking for safe havens. Regions, such as South America, Southeast Asia and mostly all Africa; which have ineffective governance and institutions along with a considerable degree of corruption, high levels of poverty and social disparity that are in the path toward a globalization process are specifically safe havens for terrorist organizations.

How to change the culture of terrorism The process of globalization along with neo liberal economic policies that were implemented amongst Third World countries had different results, from incredible success stories as Singapore and Vietnam to overwhelming and heartbreaking cases as Angola, Colombia, Somalia and the Republic of Serbia. Authoritarian or in some cases illegitimate governments that have put into practice different neo liberal policies for the sole purpose of international financial aid and without a long plan perspective, are the ones that have failed to accomplish the minimum degree to secure human and social dignity and are the ones that their society, in order to provide for themselves, are at the hand of terrorist organizations and other illegal / criminal activities.

As the globalization process goes on, free trade increases and regional boundaries start to diffuminate, terrorist organizations use and abuse low income peasants, corrupted local authorities and unstable institutions up to a grade that countries such as Afghanistan, become not only safe haven for organizations as Al Qaeda, but also training camps, ideology spread out and a red light for the entire region; while the afghan Government works only on the macroeconomic level that International Organizations demand in order to receive financial aid and development project funding instead of creating a domestic policy that would eradicate effectively the culture of terrorist support between the people.

Setting aside religious fanatism, the lack of employment opportunities, famine, poverty, economic crisis, inexistency of judicial institutions, corruption and political instability are amongst the factors that motivate peasants to shelter terrorist organization in their villages. Terrorist convince the villagers to protect them in exchange for employment opportunities, urban services or other services that the state were supposed to deliver and failed to do so, financial aid and protection from local authorities “abuse” in the name of law ; the terrorist become the “godfather” or “patriarch” of the community and provides for his people as long as they are loyal to his cause. When a community is part of the culture of terrorism, the state must act promptly in order to erase the links between such community and the terrorist organization; that is, to build new links between the local authorities and the community, reinforcing trust and opportunities through a real application of the law, and not through misinterpretation of the law. Trust in the local institutions is the first step toward a new chain of loyalty to the country and not the terrorists.

In addition to trustable local institutions, poverty and unemployment must be fought in order to eradicate the culture of terrorism. Throughout the years Third World countries have tried to eradicate poverty via bureaucracy and public spending without positive results, on the contrary, internal debt increases and high level of corruption are the principal consequences of this inadequate public policy. Instead, microfinance should be the main counterterrorist strategy in countries where terrorist organizations are immerse deep in the roots of society; due to the fact that microfinance promote legal self employment opportunities, local development, regional growth, regional trade all under the shelter of legality and peace.

Microfinance helps villagers to create their own development projects in accordance to their own reality, geography, social structure and religious beliefs; although microfinance associations does not provide technical assistance for the projects, they do interfere in the business plan and assure the financial viability and proper economic return of the project; therefore, villagers will have a secure and trustable legal way of life instead of being use by the terrorist organizations that seek shelter. Communities that embrace legal self employment via microfinance are communities that care about their future, and governments should implement social and economic development at a micro level as a second step in a counterterrorist strategy.

In order to assure that microfinance does not become a new way to finance terrorist organizations; governments and international organizations must create the legal framework for microfinance to work only for development projects in regions were terrorist activity is extremely high or notorious, with a special non-violence clause that will limit the financial resources to the project in case of riots, attacks, terrorist sheltering, illegal activities or terrorist presence.

Regional development supported by microfinance is a plausible strategy in the middle and long term in order for communities to embrace new ways of living and therefore eradicate violence and the culture of terrorism.

REFERENCES • DeYoung, Karen, World Bank Lists Failing Nations That Can Breed Global Terrorism, Washington Post, Friday, September 15, 2006; A13,http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/14/AR2006091401859_pf.html • Netanyahu, Benjamin, Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorism; NY: Faarrar, Straus, and Giroux Publishers, 1997. • Pillar, Paul; Terrorism and US Foreign Policy; April, 2001, Brookings Institute. • Cragin Kim, Chalk Peter, The Role of Social and Economic Development, at http://www.rand.org/publications/randreview/issues/rr.08.02/role.html • Winn Byrd, Miemie, Combating Terrorism a Socio-Economic Strategy, National Defense University Press, vol. 41, 2d quarter 2006, p.15-19, at http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/jfq_pubs/4106.pdf