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Defining terrorism
Terrorism refers tothe use of military force by a nation state
Terrorism refers tothe use of military force by a nation state
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Harry Kreisler welcome Louise Richardson, Executive Dean of the Radcliffe institute for Advanced study at Harvard University to discuss terrorist’s characteristic and what they want. According to Dr. Louise, as of today, nobody has a discipline of terrorism per se. Terrorism deliberate targeting of non- combatants for political purpose and that terrorist act is a political act. The act must be a politically inspired to be consider as a terrorist act. Secondly it must involve some sort of violence or the threat of violence act. Terrorists are very symbolic and that terrorists are invariably both out manned and outgunned by their opponents. The point is that the impact of their act to be greater than the actual physical act itself; therefore,
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.”
20 Feb. 2005 . White, Jonathan R. Terrorism: An Introduction. Fourth Ed. Thompson Learning, Inc., Canada. 2003.
Many analysts, researchers, and professors have tried to define the purpose of terrorism. Some believe that can only be achieved when we know how the mind of a terrorist works. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes terrorism as, “The systematic use of violence or threat of violence by organized groups to achieve specific goals. Terrorist activities may be directed against individuals, organizations or governments. Terrorism is employed by radical groups to obtain concessions from established governments, such as a change in policies unfavorable to them or the release of imprisoned members of their organizations…” (Encyclopedia Britannica. “Terrorism” 1987 T-169)
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).
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
Herman, E. & Sullivan, G. O.1989. The Terrorism Industry: The Experts and Institutions That Shape Our View of Terror. New York: Pantheon.
“No state responds to a terrorist campaign without changing its institutions and hence society itself, even if only slightly,” Stephen Sobieck states in his chapter on Democratic Responses to International Terrorism in Germany. Politically motivated terrorism struck the heart of both Germany and Italy in the 1970’s and 1980’s causing each state to do exactly what Sobieck stated. Both countries, unfortunately, suffered severe casualties, infrastructure damage, and threats from right and left wing terrorist organizations triggering these countries to adopt policy changes. This included a restructured legislation, the addition of new laws, and the modification current laws. Both countries political agendas and perceptions caused significant complications affecting each state’s ability to handle the rising threat. Germany’s political setting suffered intense rivalry between the two levels of government: the Bund (national government) and the Lander (states). Italy had similar political struggles on the perception and ideology of terrorism impacting the country. The dominated Christian Democratic Party (DC), whose primary goal was to pleas the public opinion, viewed terrorism based off political interests. The two rival parties, whose strength grew towards the end of the 1970s, included the Italian Communist Party (PCI) and the Movimento Sociale Italaino party (MSI). It took the Italian political classes five years to alert themselves seriously to the problem of terrorism.
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 has influenced civilizations throughout history and has even started wars. In 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, who was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead in Sarajevo. They were killed by Gavrilo Princip, who was one of six assassins. Their goal was to have Austria-Hungary to create a South-Slav provinces and eventually turn it into a Greater Serbia or a Yugoslavia . These helped start World War I Terrorists are individuals or organizations that use violence as a tactic to achieve political goals. These terrorists are often involved in mass killings and have a trained military. In the our nation’s 237 year history, America has had its fair share of terrorist attacks, but how has terrorism affected American society, government, and international relations.
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,
Given the growing global threats of terrorism, it is significant that an understanding of the history, nature and mechanisms under which terror operates is obtained. This is significant as it would shape the perspective of policy makers when addressing issues of this nature. Terrorism, as it is understood, is the action of non-state actors, individuals or groups, who for some reason feel suppressed, marginalized, or denied what they may view as the basic human right. All terrorism has political objectives, even though the perpetrators may use religious relics to appeal to a wider audience, and invoke a response through violent acts to prove or propagate their point. Yoram Schweitzer in "Suicide Terrorism Development & Characteristics," Mark Sedgwick in "Al-Qaeda and the Nature of Religious Terrorism," and Dr. James Armstrong, all demonstrate that suicide terror attacks are politically motivated even though the perpetrator may use religious symbolism to justify their acts.
In this world there are many different topics of controversy. With every controversial topic comes different views and arguments explaining why people believe what they do. There are problems that can be just within one country or throughout the entire world. Terrorism affects everyone in the world, specifically us as Americans, which is why it is one of the biggest controversial topics. Of course with a topic as big as terrorism, there are emic and etic perspectives involved. With past history, there are specific countries and religions that we think of when we hear the word terrorism, specifically Afghanistan, located in the Middle East and the Muslim religion in that general area. Being part of the American
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...
By defining terrorism, we can begin to look at what terrorism really is about. It is not just coercion, but it’s also revenge. It is the deliberate act of killing innocent people in order to achieve a terrorist’s political and religious goals. To justify terrorism equals justifying the innocent slaughter. Terrorism challenges the natural need for humans to see their world as predictable, orderly, and controllable. The violence of terrorism in its many forms is abhorrent to all that believe human life is a gift of god and therefore infinitely precious. Terrorism is a complicated phenomenon and the evils of it are one of the greatest threats to our modern day future.
Terrorism is defined as the use of violent acts to frighten people in an area to achieve a political goal. Although this is true there is so much more at stake when civilians experience an attack. First, it’s not just the civilians of that city; aftershock of a Terrorist attack affects the country as a whole. Terrorist strikes on a first world country can create global concerns, not solely on a political level; terrorism damages an attacked country on a larger scale.