Terrorism

The term terrorism is largely synonymous with "political violence," and refers to a strategy of using coordinated attacks which typically fall outside of the time, place, and manner of conduct commonly understood as within the bounds of conventional warfare.

Etymology

Main article: Definition of terrorism

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Although the term is often used imprecisely, there have been many attempts by various law enforcement agencies and public organizations to develop more precise working definitions of terrorism.

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The United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention has proposed a short legal definition —that " the peacetime equivalent of a war crime." A US court found that "the malice associated with terrorist attacks transcends even that of premeditated murder." Flatow v. Iran: Order. CA No. 97-396 (RCL)

Related Topics:
United Nations - War crime - Malice - Premeditated murder

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More precise definitions of terrorism tend to be relativist, because views toward particular acts of political violence are often only subjective, and rarely show satisfactory objectivity. For example, according to the United States Department of Defense, terrorism is:

Related Topics:
Relativist - Subjective - Objectivity - United States Department of Defense

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:"the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological."

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This definition is problematic because it relies on unclear terms which are left to interpretation —terms such as "unlawful violence," "intended to coerce or intimidate," "the pursuit of goals..." all can easily be applied to violent actions by state actors, though the above definition suggests such can be "lawful."

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Like all political ideas, the meaning of the term "terrorism" has evolved in response to circumstances.

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The words "terrorism" and "terror" originally referred to methods employed by regimes to control their own populations through fear, a tactic seen in totalitarian regimes such as Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia.

Related Topics:
Nazi Germany - Soviet Russia

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The term "terrorism" comes from the French word terrorisme, which is based on the Latin language verbs terrere (to frighten) and deterrere (to frighten from). It dates to 1795 when it was used to describe the actions of the Jacobin Club in their rule of post-Revolutionary France, the so-called "Reign of Terror". Jacobins are rumored to have coined the term "terrorists" to refer to themselves. Acts described as Jacobin Club "terrorism" were mostly cases of arrest or execution of opponents as a means of coercing compliance in the general public.

Related Topics:
French - Latin language - 1795 - Jacobin Club - Reign of Terror - Jacobins - Coercing compliance

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The current use of the term is broader and relies more on the example of the 19th-century revolutionaries who used the technique of assassination, particularly the anarchists and Narodniks (populists) in Tsarist Russia, whose most notable action was the assassination of Alexander II.

Related Topics:
Anarchists - Narodniks - Tsarist - Russia - Alexander II

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In response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, political leaders from Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East have placed the phenomenon of terrorism within the context of a global struggle against systems of government perceived by those accused of using terrorist tactics as harmful to their interests. The European Union includes in its 2004 definition of "terrorism" the aim of "destabilising or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country." {{ref|EUTerrorismDefinition}}

Related Topics:
September 11, 2001 attacks - Europe - North America - Asia - Middle East - European Union

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Key criteria

Official definitions determine counter-terrorism policy and are often developed to serve it. Most official definitions outline the following key criteria: target, objective, motive, perpetrator, and legitimacy or legality of the act.

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• Violence — According to Walter Laqueur of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, "the only general characteristic generally agreed upon is that terrorism involves violence and the threat of violence". However, the criterion of violence alone does not produce a useful definition, as it includes many acts not usually considered terrorism: war, riot, organized crime, or even a simple assault. Whether property destruction is considered violent is also a common debate, especially with regard to the actions of the Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front.
• Target – It is commonly held that the distinctive nature of terrorism lies in its deliberate and specific selection of civilians as direct targets in the absence of a state of war.

:This definition would exclude acts of war and attacks on military targets. It would pertain regardless of whether the attackers made an attempt to reduce civilian casualties. For example, the Zionist organization Irgun preceded many of its attacks (notably the 1946 King David Hotel bombing) with warnings to the press, the target, or the authorities of the British Mandate of Palestine. They were nevertheless considered terrorists by the British. ETA and the Provisional IRA are also known for issuing warnings. In contrast, groups such as Hamas, al-Qaeda, and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades who use attacks against civilian targets seek to maximize casualties, and therefore never issue warnings.

Related Topics:
Zionist - Irgun - 1946 - King David Hotel bombing - British Mandate of Palestine - British - ETA - Hamas - Al-Qaeda - Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - Attacks

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• Objective – As the name implies, terrorism is understood as an attempt to provoke fear and intimidation in the main target audience , which may be a government, a whole society, or a group within a society. Terrorist acts are therefore designed and may be deliberately timed to attract wide publicity and cause public shock, outrage, and fear. The intention may be to provoke disproportionate reactions from governments.
• Motive – Terrorists acts may be intended to achieve political or religious goals, which include the spread of fear and mayhem. The terrorist who acts as a mercenary, or gun-for-hire, may also be acting for personal gain: for example, see Abu Nidal. A gang of bank robbers who kill a bank manager, blow up his vault, and escape with the contents would not be classed as terrorists, but if they were to execute the same assault with the intention of causing a crisis in public confidence in the banking system, followed by a run on the banks, and a subsequent destabilization of the economy, then the gang would be classed as terrorists. This definition excludes organized crime.
• Perpetrator – Most definitions of terrorism do not include legitimate governments as terrorist actors, unless acting clandestinely and in the absence of a state of war. Acts of war, including war crimes and crimes against humanity are regarded as distinct from terrorism, as are overt government repression of its own civilians, the Holocaust, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, it does not rule out "state-sponsored terrorism", in which a government supports terrorist activity in another state, though this might instead be regarded as low-intensity warfare between sovereign states. Those who disagree with these definitions may use the term "state terror" to describe the actions of official groups such as the Gestapo, the KGB and the Stasi of East Germany against dissidents or ethnic minorities among their own citizens.
• Legitimacy – Many definitions include that the act must be unlawful.