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Terrorism and its impact
essay on defining terrorism
global perspective of terrorism
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Introduction
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.
Challenges in Defining Terrorism
Finding a proper, well-accepted definition of what constitutes terror is extremely difficult. There are many challenges that confront scholars, experts, and everyday people when it comes to defining terrorism and terrorists. Differing backgrounds and cultures of those defining terror in addition to differing histories are just one of the many challenges facing those that wish to define terror. Furthermore, labeling a group or an individual as a terrorist could be considered offensive, especially in today’s politically correct environment, potentially damaging those in the political arena. However, on the flip side, labeling someone as a terrorist can also serve a political purpose as in the case of being propaganda towards a war effort, or to help define an enemy. Nevertheless, the main problem with not being able to have a widely accepted definition of terrorism is that “It is impossible to formulate or enforce international agreements against terrorism” (Ganor, 300).
The problem with the definitions that are out there is that they are so numerous and vary so widely, it’s difficult to determine which is more accurate. Each state, nation and government has their own definition. Acc...
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...s been offered by James Rinehart who feels that the “Definition must focus on the acts of terrorists, not simply labeling the actors and must have a “Political agenda: a specific set of grievances of demands that are of utmost importance to the actors willing to use terror” (14).
Finally, Ganz suggests that we limit the definition to include civilian noncombatants only, in accordance with the Geneva conventions. His definition is “Terrorism is the international use of, or threat to use, violence against civilians or against civilian targets in order to attain political aims” (294).
Conclusion
There will always be confusion with defining terror as long as there remains biases and stereotypes. As long we can step outside of the stereotypes and focus on real research, only then can we start to understand the full complexities of terror and what it involves.
The threat of global terrorism continues to rise with the total number of deaths reaching 32,685 in 2015, which is an 80 percent increase from 2014 (Global Index). With this said, terrorism remains a growing, and violent phenomenon that has dominated global debates. However, ‘terrorism’ remains a highly contested term; there is no global agreement on exactly what constitutes a terror act. An even more contested concept is whether to broaden the scope of terrorism to include non-state and state actors.
Categorical terrorism, according to Jeff Goodwin, is defined as “the strategic use of violence and threats of violence, usually intended to influence several audiences, by oppositional political groups against civilian or noncombatants who belong to a specific entity, religious or national group, social class or some other collectivity, without regard to their individual identities or roles.” More so, in terms of definition, according to a study done by Jeffrey Record in 2003, there was a count of over 109 definitions of terrorism, covering 22 different categorical elements. During the 70s and 80s, the United Nations struggled to define the term, finally coming up with the following definition: “Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them.”
Defining terrorism has remained a highly contentious terrain with even International organisations like the League of Nations and the United Nations finding it extremely difficult to build and develop a consensus upon .But different scholars have attempted to define this concept:
However, terrorism is difficult to define because the meaning of the term has changed so frequently over the past 200 years. It has morphed from positive connotation during the French Revolution (closely associated with the ideals of virtue and democracy ), through the revolutionary movement and finally to a religiously motivated act as it is mainly perceived today. Nevertheless, we have to ask ourselves whether “old” and “new” terrorism really exists, or maybe the phenomenon we are facing today reminds us an old wine in a new bottle.
The quest to establish a universal definition of terrorism is entangled in questions of law, history, philosophy, morality, and religion by nature, a subjective one that eludes large-scale consensus. Terrorism is defined differently by different countries, nations and even department’s federal or state law enforcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (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 (NIJ).
Think of the word terrorism. What is the first thing that comes to mind? One might think of kidnapping, assassination, bombing, or even genocide and guerrilla warfare. Because it is such a broad and complex issue, an all-encompassing definition is hard to formulate. The United States Department of Defence defines terrorism as…
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.
Terrorism definitions are difficult to solidify mainly because of the overwhelming differences in perspectives. After review of 18 U.S. Code § 2331 certain dialect and shared commonalities have led to my own definition of terrorism which I define as; any activity that involves a violent act or an act dangerous to human life that is a violation of criminal laws enacted by a sovereign region, for the purpose of policy change or gains through implementation of fear, directed towards non-participating entities. Tony Duheaume a critic and author which has spent over forty years following political and civil events in the Middle East, depicts events from his article, “Understanding Hezbollah’s history as a ‘proxy of Iran’” from the Al Arabiya English website concerning acts of terrorism which Hezbollah has claimed responsibility
Terrorism is an affront to the world yet a consistent way of dealing with those that engage in terrorism has not been developed on the international level. Acts of terrorism can be loosely defined as acts perpetrated against citizens to instill terror, as acts that are committed by non-governmental bodies or representatives. This definition, of course, varies significantly according to the entity providing that definition. Furthermore, as our understanding and perception of terrorism evolves so do our definitions and the way that we attempt to legally deal with the phenomena. The fluid nature of the international response to terrorism can be attributed to this fact as can our failure to co...
The compelling need for the international community to come up with a comprehensive definition of terrorism is so that all nations have the same understanding of what is and what is not terrorism. By having an internationally agreed upon definition by all nations, it will make it easier for the country that experiences acts of terrorism to prosecute the perpetrators of the terrorist acts. In doing this ‘people’ who are trying to achieves international notoriety by committing ‘illegal’ acts which they see as terrorist acts to gain recognition in the international community, would be less likely to commit these illegal acts. It would also not gain them the worldwide recognition they seek.
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
There is no set definition for terrorism, this is because each country have a different definition of terrorism, but it is commonly recognized as violence from groups with political, religious or ideological ideas. Terrorism tries to bring about change with violence and their targets are usually unsuspecting civilians. However, freedom fighters understand terrorism to be violence against the government and government policy to bring about political, and social change to better their way of life. There are two major category of terrorism, International and Domestic terrorism (Yancey, 2006).
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,
There is no set definition for terrorism, this is because each country has a different definition of terrorism, but it is commonly recognized as violence from groups with political, religious or ideological ideas. Terrorism tries to bring about change with violence and their targets are usually unsuspecting civilians. However, freedom fighters understand terrorism to be violence against the government and government policy to bring about political, and social change to better their way of life. There are two major categories of terrorism, International and Domestic terrorism (Yancey, 2006).
Terrorism is a strategic violence or acts against civilians for certain parties to attain ideological, political or religious goals. The term refers to unlawful use of violence or force against property or people in the effort of coercing the government or civilians to meet their political or social goals (Kellner, 2015a). Terrorism is one of the most challenging issues facing the world as dissatisfaction and objectives are changing every day in various regions. Technology and modernity have fastened the spread of terrorism globally thus emerging as a world number challenge. Currently the world is experiencing a growth and expansion of terrorists groups in various parts of the world focused to meet their goals through violence in coercing government