What is terrorism, and what constitutes an act of terror? Certainly, the history of terrorism is as old as war itself. Some might say that the strategy of causing fear in the enemy, to make him overestimate your forces while simultaneously doubting his own, make up the very essence of warfare. But mention the word “terrorism” to somebody, and chances are that the first thing that comes to mind is a mental image: The Oklahoma City bombing, dead Marines in Beirut, the Unabomber, or Lockerbie. The events of September 11, which have become synonymous with the idea of terrorism in America, would certainly be at the top of that list. But even these events, which best illustrate the phenomenon for us, fail to define it. This is because of the different circumstances behind each occurrence. The sum cannot simply be broken down into its antecedents. So how do we define a term as broad as terrorism? Before you can destroy your enemy, you must understand your enemy. Keeping this in mind, we’ll look at the many different classifications that terrorism can be separated into, before moving into tactics and mentality.
The different types of terrorism are as varied as the individual terrorist’s motives and desires. The difference between international and domestic terrorism is probably the most noticeable split. To put it simply, international terrorism is an attack by foreign agents on another country or its interests, and domestic terrorism is an attack upon a country by its own citizens. Also important to take into consideration is whether the terrorist is acting as part of a larger group or cell, or whether he is a “lone-wolf” and is acting with no outside aid. The general idea of a terrorist ring is best represented by organizations lik...
... middle of paper ...
...ernet. The internet allows the terrorist to spread propaganda and video, recruit potential new members, and communicate with other terrorists the world over. This is why terror tactics have become so prominent. He knows that a savage attack, especially on a civilian target, guarantees him front-page news coverage. This is how these groups incubate fear in the general public, who will then begin to demand that their leaders take action, up to and including a complete pull-out. By this same token, the best way to tackle this extra-national threat is with information. This is why a good counter-insurgency strategy is the best method for defeating terrorists. Win the hearts and minds of the local people for yourself, and you will strip the support of the enemy camp. Defeat the terrorist by defeating his ideology. Making the proper classification is just the first step.
The FBI defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof in furtherance of political or social objectives (fbi.gov).” By this definition, terrorism can be classified as internal or international based on the overall intent of the attack. Terrorism has been around since the beginning of time, but it’s only since 2011 that the world has come to fully understand the meaning of terrorism. The following paragraphs will highlight four different types of terrorist attacks that all took place within the United States spanning over a 40 year time period.
Within the world today, there are many organizations with varying opinions about specific ideals. But some of the organizations will take things to the extreme, and will do almost anything to prove that their view is the right one. This extreme act to further an objective is known as terrorism, but what exactly is a formal definition of terrorism? Frank Schmalleger defines it as “[a] violent act or an act dangerous to human life, in violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any state, that is committed to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives” (Criminal Justice Today, 2013 p.560). The American way of life and other aspects such as policy and the criminal justice system have been impacted by terrorism in many ways over the course of the twenty first century.
There are many differing definitions of terrorism. What is terrorism? How do we define it? Why is one man’s terrorist another man’s freedom fighter? These are just a few of the questions that face the world on a daily basis. There are many challenges that face the international community when it comes to how to define terrorism and what it constitutes. This paper will explore the challenges facing scholars when it comes to labeling terror and discuss potential ways to properly define it.
During the 21st Century acts of domestic and international terrorism have significantly increased. Thus the international community of nations has the challenge to adopt a common approach to the treatment of terrorism as an international crime. The challenge at present is for the international community of nations to adopt a common approach to the treatment of terrorism as an international crime (Lawless, 2008). In fact, terrorism is an international crime it requires the international community to act in the prevention of terrorism and the sanction of individuals perpetrating acts of terrorism(Lawless, 2008). The September 2011 attack on the United States has presented an opportunity for the internationalist forces to come to the forefront of the global political agenda. ...
Terrorism is defined as the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments of societies in the pursuit of gals that are generally political, religious, or ideological by The United States Department of Defense("Terrorism research-what is," ). Terrorism can be classified in two different categories: International terrorism; not within the United States Jurisdiction and Domestic terrorism; within the United States Jurisdiction.
What is “terrorism”? Terrorism is a hotly contested term that is subjected to the reader’s political alignments. Most readers can agree that “terrorism” is a form of political action through violence that seeks to instill fear into a population, but defining “terrorism” becomes more complicated when being applied to groups and organizations. Lisa Stampnitzky’s “Can Terrorism Be Defined?” addresses this issue by drawing three important questions from the difficulty of defining “terrorism”: first, who is the enemy? Second, when is violence legitimate? Third, what is political? These three questions are instrumental in understanding terrorism while also understanding why certain groups are labeled terrorists and why others are not. This bias of
In Module one, I learned that terrorism is a result of physical harm or deadly acts of force with the intent of a political outcome by the use of terror for coercion. There are various types of terrorism such as international terrorism and domestic terrorism. International terrorism occurs outside of the United States with a purpose to influence the policy of a government by intimidation. International and Domestic terrorism both involve violent acts dangerous to human life that violate federal and state laws. Domestic terrorism occurs within the United States with the intention of coercion or intimidation by way of mass destruction, etc. Some forms of terrorism include Improvised explosive devices (IED), kidnappings, suicide bombings and
It is for this very purpose that International agencies have been created, such as the United Nations, large groups of members from various countries, who primarily function to prevent violent conflict from happening through diplomatic talks. As both the concept of terrorism as well as the method of dealing with terror attacks have changed, so has the way these attacks are carried out. In his compilation of articles titled “The Routledge History of Terrorism”, Randall D. Law uses several articles describing several defined methods of terrorism most of which are much more recent, primarily due to the available technology in modern times which gives those who would bring harm to others. Modern day terrorists have much better technology. Social media, computer hacking, car bombs, and suicide bombers are just some of the more modern ways that these acts of terror are being carried out, with a much deadlier result than would have been possible in the days of Judith. Just as the definitions of terrorist and terrorism have changed over time, so have the methods of attack for these
The concept of terrorism is exceedingly difficult to define. Author Gerald Seymour first said in his book Harry’s Game that, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”. Each individual may view terrorism in a different light. Because of this, there is currently no universal definition of terrorism. However in recent years, it has become increasingly more important to form a definition of terrorism, especially while working in the media.
Hermann.G, M., 2008. Concepts of Terrorism: Analysis of the rise,decline,trend & rise. Netherlands: Institute of International Relations.
Throughout the 21st century, various politicians have attempted to define terrorism. Yet, terrorism is a broad topic and having searched for the true meaning of terrorism, the universal definition of terrorism does not exist. The UN Security Council Resolution 1566 (2004) gives a definition of terrorism as “criminal acts…against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons..” Also, the United States have defined terrorism under the Federal Criminal Code, Title 18. It defines and lists the crimes associate with terrorism . Section 2331 of Chapter 113(B), defines terrorism as, “activities
Terrorism is an ongoing phenomenon that has been occurring for centuries (Alvarez & Bachman, 2014). It involves several different types of behaviors that are committed for many different reasons. Those forms include assassinations, bombings, theft, hijackings, kidnappings, and a host of other violent acts. The type of terrorism that will be discussed is right-wing terrorism. Right-wing terrorism is one type of the many that is related Substates terrorism, which is perpetrated by nongovernmental groups. Right-wing terrorism is described as the acts of conservative organizations who seek to return society to some mythic or past time, or acts of conservative organizations that seek to preserve a political system (Alvarez & Bachman, 2014).
Terrorism is one of the most extensively discussed issues of our time and at the same time it is also one of the least understood. The term itself “terrorism” means many different things to different people, cultures, and races. As a result, trying to define or classify terrorism with one universal definition is nearly impossible. The definition of terrorism used in this research is a reflection of much of the Western and American way of defining it. The definition of terrorism is,
Terrorism has many forms, and many definitions. “Elements from the American definitional model define terrorism as a premeditated and unlawful act in which groups or agents of some principal engage in a threatened or actual use o...
The word terrorism was first used during the French Revolution from the reign of terror inflicted by the French from 1784-1804 ("International Affairs"). It was used to describe the violent acts perpetrated on the French that inflicted terror on the various peoples and instilled fear within them. However, at the time it had a more positive connotation than the term that instills fear today. During the French Revolution this was because it referred to state-sponsored terrorism in order to show the need of state instead of anarchy, sometimes promoted by other groups (Hoffman 2). Therefore, even though terrorism has taken a new nature, terrorism can refer to official governments or guerrilla groups operating outside national governments ("International Affairs"). In order to encompass terrorism’s various sectors and explain it to the public, in both positive and negative aspects, many analysts have tried to put it into a few words. Terrorism is a method used by tightly of loosely organized groups operation within states or international territories that are systematic in using deliberate acts of violence or threats in order to instill...