Poverty: One of the most popular explanations is that poverty breeds Terrorism. I don't think this is true at all. You can find my article titled "The Myth of the Poor Terrorist" that details relatively well-off (rich or middle class, well-educated) extremists, who've carried out or planned to carry out strikes. So, I don't really buy this connection between poverty and terrorism. There are also many poor places around the world where there are no terrorists at all (parts of South America, Africa, and Asia come to mind), so this idea is just a favorite catch line of some intellectuals who can't find a better explanation.
Undemocratic Governments: Some argue that nondemocratic governments breed conditions that extremists can exploit to further their own agenda. I don't buy this idea either. North Korea is nondemocratic and so is China and I don't see either of them breeding "global terrorists" who plan attacks around the world.
Alienated Intelligentsia: I believe this can provide a good explanation. If you look at some of the high profile conflict areas and the individuals involved, you almost always see that there is an intellectual class that rules the hordes of fanatics. There is a brain behind all the bombings you see, isn't there? And in most cases, these are educated, well-to-do people who have everything in life but have a sense of disaffection or alienation. They aren't happy with the way the world is at present and want to do something about it. These are the most dangerous terrorists, far more than any of the foot soldiers who carry out the actual attack. These are the brains who brainwash young and confused men and quite often children as well.
Indoctrination: What happens when you teach a kid that X, Y, and Z are your enemies and that they mean no good to your people. That these other people are in fact the devil. Can you expect a well-rounded young man to emerge out of all of this? Don't think so. What you can expect to get with this kind of tutoring is in fact a Talib who has a worldview akin to a frog living in a well. No wonder then that these guys can do the worst atrocities and yet justify it on the basis of religion.
Ethnicity: Some argue that ethnicity and injustices (perceived or real) are one of the root causes. Well, perhaps this is true, but not totally. While one may be brainwashed into thinking that your people are being persecuted when in fact they are not, the truth is that there are millions who are killed by their own same ethnic group and religion. Saddam Hussein killed his own people for example and one can argue that he he perpetrated more atrocities than any other foreign power, yet he was viewed as a hero in his part of the world by people of countries surrounding Iraq. Why? This again demonstrates the fact that ethnicity has nothing to do with it.
Charities That Aren't Charities: There are countless of these Charities that collect Funds in the name of various causes but what they in fact do is fund terrorism. As with any business, the business of terrorism needs funds and this is by far the best way for fanatics to obtain funds; others being collecting ransom money, drug money, etc. There are also many countries that support these charities in the name of religion. They have millions of dollars to spend and they do so by funding these charities and religious schools, which in fact use these funds to fund terrorist activities and building more schools of indoctrination.
