Terrorism - the definition ( Archived) (108)

Albertaghost: A terrorist is s soldier of sorts as he or she serves a political master same as legitimate troops. They attack those who are weakest in order to propagate a message that nobody is safe so that others like the victims either demand action from the government to safe guard them or, lose confidence in their ability to do so. In either case, the government is weakened so that the political end of the terrorist's leaders can exploit the chaos.

Terrorism is a means, not an end.

lou460: Something like embargo's on civilian populations and sanctions against entire nations right Albert?

Albertaghost: Kofi Annan;

""Among my specific proposals in this area, I ask all states to complete, sign and implement the comprehensive convention on terrorism, based on a clear and agreed definition, as well as the convention on nuclear terrorism and the fissile material cut-off treaty,” he added.

The report backs the definition of terrorism – an issue so divisive agreement on it has long eluded the world community – as any action “intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act. ""

Norway should sign the agreemen

So that's his, Bruce Hoffman (see creds below) has a list of what the criteria is to define terrorism.

On page 41 of his book 'Inside terrorism, 2 ed., Columbia University Press, 2006' he writes that what differentiates a terrorist from a criminal is that the act is;

""- ineluctably political in aims and motives
- violent – or, equally important, threatens violence
- designed to have far-reaching psychological repercussions beyond the immediate victim or target
- conducted by an organization with an identifiable chain of command or conspiratorial cell structure (whose members wear no uniform or identifying insignia) and
- perpetrated by a subnational group or non-state entity""

As for why people are so quick to call any violent act 'terrorism' he also writes on page 32;

""On one point, at least, everyone agrees: terrorism is a pejorative term. It is a word with intrinsically negative connotations that is generally applied to one's enemies and opponents, or to those with whom one disagrees and would otherwise prefer to ignore. What is called terrorism,' Brian Jenkins has written, 'thus seems to depend on one's point of view. Use of the term implies a moral judgment; and if one party can successfully attach the label terrorist to its opponent, then it has indirectly persuaded others to adopt its moral viewpoint.' Hence the decision to call someone or label some organization terrorist becomes almost unavoidably subjective, depending largely on whether one sympathizes with or opposes the person/group/cause concerned. If one identifies with the victim of the violence, for example, then the act is terrorism. If, however, one identifies with the perpetrator, the violent act is regarded in a more sympathetic, if not positive (or, at the worst, an ambivalent) light; and it is not terrorism.""

Then there is state terrorism. Acts such as the German Bombing of London or the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima which might fall under this as they fit Hoffman's criteria to affect political change however, they were at the time conducted by uniformed national entities.

In any case, normally a nation does not conduct terrorism as it instead conducts warfare within legal boundaries and, uses force rather than terror to implement it's will with terror as an unnecessary by product rather than the prime motive.

So, my question is, what is your widely accepted definition for terrorism?

""Professor Bruce Hoffman has been studying terrorism and insurgency for more than thirty years. He is currently Director of the Center for Peace and Security Studies, Director of the Security Studies Program, and a tenured professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Washington, DC. Professor Hoffman previously held the Corporate Chair in Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency at the RAND Corporation and was also Director of RAND’s Washington, D.C. Office. From 2001 to 2004, he served as RAND’s Vice President for External Affairs and in 2004 he also was Acting Director of RAND’s Center for Middle East Public Policy. ""