Terrorism And The Pursuit Of Political Aims Essay

The word ‘terrorism’ can be traced back to the French Revolution and the reign of terror committed against the population of France in the 1790s. During this time, thousands of people were killed and the general population was severely oppressed. Also, some of the first instances of terrorist tactics, such as assassination and intimidation, were witnessed in the killing of prominent officials and other opponents of the Revolution. In general, terrorists aim to incite fear in the population through pre-meditated violent acts and gain publicity as a medium in achieving their goals. Such acts include taking hostages, bombings and assassinations, all of which create fear and compliance in a victim or audience. Terrorism can be distinguished from other types of political violence through its disregard for and intentional harming of innocent civilians. Also, terrorists usually adopt a state of mind where one side is always good and any opposition is bad and deserves to be punished. As a result, terrorists will always have some supporters who share the same radical thoughts as them and thus terrorism, as a whole, will always be accepted as a legitimate use of violence. This is the reasoning behind the famous phrase by Gerald Seymour, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”(QUOTE

Terrorism is an act that threatens or carries out violence with the intention to disrupt, kill or coerce against a body or nation in order to impose will. This means that a lot of groups use this method to get what they want. The groups use a variety of methods, groups such as:

Terrorism is defined as an act of violence that is committed by an organization or a single person in order to be heard. Terrorist acts are usually based on a couple factors such as, historical grievances, foreign policy decision, poverty, and religion. Terrorism is not a new act amongst the world but something that has been around since the beginning. To understand a criminal you must think like a criminal, and understand why they committed a crime or a violent act, then you can prevent and conquer.

The term terrorism is used widely in present day especially in the United States. Terrorism is a double standard, the people who commit those terrorist acts, commit the acts out of beliefs and in their eyes ok. Terrorism can be described as the illegitimate use of force to achieve a political objective by targeting innocent people (Laqueur, 1987). To me the definition mention above is a great definition to describe terrorism as a crime. To aim for innocent people to prove a point which lead major injuries or death in most cases is to most people would be a crime, no questions asked. According to Martha Crenshaw (1995), “Terrorism cannot be defined unless the act, target and possibility of success are analyzed”. So to think, terrorist are people who commit these acts as a way to get their political or religious point across. If we look at the some of the most famous terrorist acts they are automatically labeled crimes. 9/11 was a crime because the persons affiliated with the act, targeted the

Terrorism has been around since at least the First Century. Terrorism is a crime in which people or groups of people use, or say they will use, violence in order to get what they want from the government or society. A terrorist is a person who uses violence and fear to achieve political

Terrorism can be defined different ways by different people. “Terrorism is violence- or the threat of violence used to achieve a political goal” (Terrorism 1), that was Opposing Viewpoint’s definition of terrorism. Opposing Viewpoints says that [Terrorism] “differs

In order to determine whether an action is a terrorist act or not, terrorism must first be defined. Terrorism is the use or threatening the use of violence as a weapon to influence a person or a group of people to change policies or influence decisions according to the terrorist’s desires. The terrorist can be a single person acting on personal wishes or a group of people with an ultimate goal. The goals of a terrorist are normally political, ideological, or religious in nature.

Terrorism is a significant and recurring situation that has changed the lives of people around the world, overwhelming them with fear and uncertainty of their future. It has become part of our daily lives today as we are still fighting wars to resolve many of the issues that began with the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Terrorism does not have a definitive definition but must meet certain conditions for it to be considered terrorism. There has to be a reason for an act that is deemed political, and it must affect the lives of innocent people, putting a sense of fear into them (Combs, Slann, “Terrorism”). Not only may the reason behind an act be political, but it could also be seen as religious as well (Sterba). Since the 9/11 attacks, terrorism

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines terrorism as, “the use of violent acts to frighten the people in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal” (Terrorism, n.d.). The various definitions of terrorism are typically close in comparison but can carry a slightly different tone when used by a government for purposes of the law.

While terrorism dates back to around 1 BCE, it has become much more prominent in our everyday lives within the past few decades. We are constantly worried about the next attack, when it is going to happen, and where it will be. Whether it is physical or cyber, terrorism is one of the top concerns for the United States. Although it is extremely difficult to define, the U.S. Department of Defense describes it as “the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological objectives” (Hoffman, 31). While it is hard for us to understand why someone would cause something as horrific as 9/11 or the Paris bombing, terrorists believe that they are doing good and helping the world. They are very methodical, have missions, rules and regulations, followers, and goals that they want to achieve. The goals of terrorism are to evoke fear, fight for religious, ideological, or political change, and to obtain worldwide recognition for what they have done.

There are generally four repeating common themes used to define terrorism: (1) the use or threat to use violence; (2) a political objective; (3) with intent to spread fear through a public act; (4) with the intent to commit violence against civilians (Various, n.d.). Additionally, these themes are promoted mostly by non-democratic societies or dictatorships that advance their goals through state sponsored terrorism. State sponsored terrorism is not conducted by democratic regimes for if they truly suppressed their people through acts of terrorism then they would no longer be democratic (Various, n.d.). Terroristic acts involving the slaughter of innocent men, woman and children from all sides are often justified or legitimatized by the accustomed morals and values of each group. Although there is extensive literature on the subject of terrorism, no common or universal definition for the term exists.

The concept of terrorism as defined by Hoffman in his book, Inside Terrorism, is not easily defined. Hoffman indicates that most definitions do not give the word “terrorism” a clear definition for today (Hoffman 2006). However, according to Hoffman, the Oxford English Dictionary does provide a definition that embodies terrorism since its beginnings. “Any one who attempts to further his views by a system of coercive intimidation.” (Hoffman 2006, 3). The views that are typically political or idealogical in nature (Hoffman, 2006, 2-3).

This leads into the second and main premise of my argument; even though it is not as bad as modern warfare, terrorism is not morally justifiable. I will grant McPherson the fact that he has successfully proven that war is equally, if not more unjustifiable than terrorism, yet this however, does not mean that one can automatically conclude that terrorism is morally sound. It is the lesser of two evils, but I do not think it is justifiable. Walzer understands terrorism to be the “random” murder of innocent people, intended to spread so much fear that those who are subject to this violence feel as if they are in danger and will demand that the state fight

In recent decades, society has been victim to one of the worst scourges ever known: terrorism, which is an expressive act of violence seen throughout history (conquests, wars) with varied forms of expression and cruelty. If a general definition of terrorism could be given it would be, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1269, a terrorist act is any act intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or other person not directly involved in armed conflict, when the purpose of such act, by nature or context, is to intimidate a population or compel a government or international organization to do or abstain from any act.

Terrorism; it cannot be defined or determined by one single act of an individual or group. Different areas of the world have specific qualities they look for whenever a violent event happens. Terrorism is an international problem in today’s global community. Despite the efforts to end terroristic events, a terrorist attack can happen at any second. In the Twenty-First Century, Boko Haram and the Boston Bombing are examples reflecting terrorist acts. It is important to research and understand the unlawful use of force and violence against any persons; whether it be through a terrorist or an entire organization.