Terrorism
Terrorism in the modern sense is violence or other harmful acts committed (or threatened) against civilians for political or other ideological goals. Most definitions of terrorism include only those acts which are intended to create fear or "terror", are perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to a lone attack), and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants. Many definitions also include only acts of unlawful violence.
Definition
As a form of unconventional warfare, terrorism is sometimes used when attempting to force political change by convincing a government or population to agree to demands to avoid future harm or fear of harm, destabilizing an existing government, motivating a disgruntled population to join an uprising, escalating a conflict in the hopes of disrupting the status quo, expressing a grievance, or drawing attention to a cause.
Terrorism has been used by a broad array of political organizations in furthering their objectives; both right-wing and left-wing political parties, nationalistic, and religious groups, revolutionaries and ruling governments. The presence of non-state actors in widespread armed conflict has created controversy regarding the application of the laws of war.
There is disagreement on definitions of terrorism. However, there is an intellectual consensus globally, that acts of terror should not be accepted under any circumstances. This is reflected in all important conventions including the United Nations counter terrorism strategy, the decisions of the Madrid Conference on terrorism, the Strategic Foresight Group and ALDE Round Tables at the European Parliament.
The term has often been used politically as a term of abuse or denunciation, both by non-state groups and by governments against each other. There is no universally agreed upon definition of the term, and many definitions exist.
See Also
- Hates crimes: Terrorist statistics - Islamist, "left-wing", "right-wing"
- War on Terror
- Allied Terror Bombing
- Claimed mass killings of Germans by the WWII Allies
External links
- Terrorist groups, National Counterterrorism Center
- Government agents 'directly involved' in most high-profile US terror plots
