Terrorism

Historical perspective
Is terrorism new? How old is it?
Terrorism avant la lettre
Some examples:
Sicarii (1st century AD)

 The Assassins (13th century)

Defining terror, terrorism,

terrorist

Latin verb terror: to frighten

Dictionnaire de Acadmie Franaise

(1798):
Terrorism: Systme, rgime de la
terreur
Terrorist: anyone who wants to
further his view by a system of
coercive intimidation

US Federal Bureau of Investigation

(FBI):
The unlawful use of force against
definitions
persons or property to intimidate or
coerce a government, the civilian
population or any segment thereof, in
the furtherance of political or social
objectives.

A.P. Schmidts
proposal to the
UN in 1999:

A peacetime
equivalent
of a war
crime

US State Department:
Premeditated, politically motivated
definitions
violence perpetrated against
noncombatant targets by subnational
groups or clandestine agents, usually
intended to influence an audience. In
addition, the term "noncombatant" is
interpreted to include, in addition to
civilians, military personnel who at the
time of the incident are unarmed or not
on duty.

Increasingly, questions are

being raised about the
problem of the definition of a
terrorist. Let us be wise and
focused about this. Terrorism
is terrorism... What looks
smells and kills like terrorism
is terrorism
Sir Jeremy Greenstock,
British Ambassador to the
United Nations, in 2001

Why is it important to define

terrorism?
To develop an effective international
strategy
To prevent terrorist organisations
from obtaining legitimacy for their
acts
It makes it more likely that terrorists
who are not aware of their status
may quit their job

Academic consensus
definition
Terrorism is a politically motivated
tactic involving the threat or the use
of force or violence in which the
pursuit of publicity plays an
important role
But: what about perpetrators,
victims, fear or terror, motive or goal,
non-combatants, criminal or immoral
nature?

What about Terrorism

conducted by the state?

 'Whether the attackers are acting on

their own or on the orders of their
governments, whether they are
regulars or irregulars,
if the attack is against civilians, then
they must be considered as
terrorists."
Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad of Malaysia at the
meeting of the foreign ministers
of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) in March 2002.

Focus on intentional harm

Many legitimate acts of war foreseeably harm

the innocent.
What distinguishes terrorism from legitimate acts
of war
is rather that terrorism aims to harm or kill the
innocent,
whereas legitimate acts of war, when they do
harm the
innocent, do so unintentionally.