What makes the terrorism of recent decades so striking is that theyre seldom undertaken for strategic purposesto gain territory or make demandsbut are. Although there is no single definition of terrorism in international law, the term should only be used for the gravest. Terrorism definition of terrorism by merriamwebster. To date, the international community has failed to agree on a. Counterextremism efforts may restrict speech in the classroom. Last week, we suffered two acts of domestic terrorism. Terrorism simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The revised academic consensus definition of terrorism by alex p. 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. As noted earlier, this is the most basic definition of terrorism. Terrorism is violence or the threat of violence directed against civilians for the purpose of creating intense fear, which the terrorist hopes to exploit to attain political or ideological goals. In groups of 24 students, teams design an intervention on prevention and deradicalization of extremism and terrorism, focused on topics such as a viral video social media campaign. Why it is not easy for the united nations to define terrorism. Terrorism, the calculated use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective.
Terrorism can include blowing up an embassy, blowing up or hijacking an air carrier, killing or abducting an american citizenthose sorts of acts of violence. North atlantic treaty organization nato definition of terrorism. But crafting a watertight, commonly accepted definition has. Terrorism is the use of fear and acts of violence in order to intimidate societies, governments or against an ideology.
Interestingly, the american definition of terrorism is a reversal of the words original meaning, given in the oxford english dictionary as government by. It will do this by first outlining some characteristics of a working definition and will look at problems associated with creating a working definition for terrorism. Religion dispatches is your independent, nonprofit, awardwinning source for the best writing on critical and timely issues at the intersection of religion, politics, and culture. While there are many national and regional definitions, there is no universal legal definition approved by the general assembly of the united nations the one. Department of homeland security dhs definition of terrorism. Law enforcement generally recognizes two types of terrorism. Terrorism is the premeditated use or threat to use violence by individuals or subnational groups to obtain a political or social objective through the intimidation of a large audience beyond that of the immediate noncombatant victims enders and sandler, 2012, p. Code 2656f as premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents. Friedman basically attributes to israel the desire and this is just friedmans interpretation to educate hamas by inflicting a heavy death toll on hamas militants and heavy pain on the gaza population.
Thus, the determination of the rightdefinition of terrorism is subjective and not likely to be reached by. I think its very important that when we talk about changing policy, we recognize that we often modify our definition of terrorism in order to flag people whose goals we disagree with. Terrorism hoffman terrorism what is terrorism by bruce. The conflict, or much rather conflicts, in syria have exploded a flurry of definitions for terrorism with practically all fighting factions in the wider armed conflict in the wartorn country calling their enemies terrorists to justify their carpet bombings, barrel bombings, rocket shelling and even the indiscriminate deployment of chemical weapons against the other side. There is no universal agreement on the definition of terrorism. He also contributed to the films apocalypse now and full metal jacket. What it is, and what it isnt the las vegas shooting has again raised questions about domestic terrorism. Various legal systems and government agencies use different definitions. How do we think about and describe religiouslymotivated violence the hutarees plans to murder a police officer and use ieds to attack the funeral procession in order to catalyze. Any definition of terrorism should differentiate it from the struggle for selfdetermination of peoples. He said islam had nothing to do with the instigation of harm to innocent peoples.
Moreover, governments have been reluctant to formulate an agreedupon and legally binding definition. What their wars have in common is that they are based on an enormous deception. Terrorism is the use of violence, especially murder and bombing, in order to achieve. Difficulties arise from the fact that the term has become politically and emotionally charged. Glenn greenwald on tom friedmans douchebaggery in support.
This definition states that terrorism is a violent act or an act dangerous to human life in violation of the criminal laws of the united states or of any state to intimidate or coerce a. The foundation of modern terrorism is the work of sergey nechayev, a russian radical who developed strategies for carrying. Overview hoffman attempts to define what terrorism is by first examining why it is difficult to define. Domestic terrorism is based and executed in the united. Code as politically motivated violence perpetrated in a clandestine manner against noncombatants.
Army manual definition terrorism is the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful. The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence against individuals or property in an attempt to coerce or intimidate governments or societies to achieve political, religious or ideological objectives. The revised academic consensus definition of terrorism. The arrest of the michiganbased hutaree militia has drawn worldwide attention, and in so doing surfaced one of the knottiest issues we face as a culture to which religious freedom and free speech are so central. The meaning given to terrorism is part of a persons or nations philosophy. It is common for opponents in a violent conflict to describe the other side as terrorists or as. The key elements to terrorism are obvious to many violence, noncombatant targets, intention of spreading fear, and political aims. Terrorism is an ideological construct, an essentially contested term. Under section 2 of the homeland security act of 2002. News religion coverage here was the new zealand terrorist attack committed by a lone wolf.
The myth of the lone wolf terrorist continues with new. Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government or its citizens to further certain political or social objectives. Definitions of terrorism are complex and controversial. Experts on terrorism also include another aspect in the definition. The present definition of terrorism used in uk legal systems is to be found in section 1, terrorism act 2000,as amended4. Ive often written that terrorism is the most meaningless, and thus most manipulated, term in american. Department of state defined terrorism in its 2001 publication, patterns of global terrorism.
Herrs 1977 book, dispatches, was based on his time covering the vietnam war. In the united states of america, terrorism is defined in. Remembering michael herr, whose dispatches brought the. Cyberterrorism is the use of the internet to conduct violent acts that result in, or threaten, loss of life or significant bodily harm, in order to achieve political or ideological gains through threat or intimidation. In the united states of america, terrorism is defined in title 22 chapter 38 u. The history of terrorism is a history of wellknown and historically significant individuals, entities, and incidents associated, whether rightly or wrongly, with terrorism. Terrorist definition of terrorist by merriamwebster.
The definition of terrorism world news the guardian. Politics, by its nature, is adversarial, and thus any definition evokes adversarial disagreement. Terrorism definition is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion. Although work began on a draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism by the end of 2000, the definitional impasse has prevented its adoption. Glenn greenwald does a beautiful job of taking tom friedman to task over his defense of israels tactics in gaza. The recent attack on two mosques in christchurch, new zealand by a 28yearold white extremist, brenton tarrant, killing fifty innocent worshipers in the midst of their weekly prayers, raises the. For the purposes of this report, however, we have chosen the definition of terrorism contained in title 22 of the united states code, section 2656fd.
Terms like christian militia or islamic terrorism can suggest that terrorism and militias are more characteristic of these enormous and highlyvaried religious traditions than is the case. In the united states, for instance, references to terrorism are made in numerous contextspecific federal statutes and regulations. My aim is rather to try for a definition that captures the trait, or traits, of terrorism which cause most of us to view it with moral repugnance. Scholars agree that terrorism is a disputed term, and very few of those labeled terrorists describe themselves as such. Interestingly, the american definition of terrorism is a reversal of the words original meaning, given in the oxford english dictionary as government by intimidation. Today it usually refers to intimidation of governments. Terrorism definition and meaning collins english dictionary. The first recorded use of terrorism and terrorist was in 1795. Terrorist definition is an advocate or practitioner of terrorism as a means of coercion. I am calling it our war on terrorism because i want to distinguish it from bushs war on terrorism, and from sharons, and from putins. Ecuador should drop terrorism charges against activists.
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