There is no universal agreement on the definition of terrorism. Yet the decision to take a onesize fits all approach to defining terrorism was taken without much consideration of. Understanding definitions of terrorism the international community remains divided over a universally acceptable definition of terrorism. A former head of the metropolitan police counter terrorism command so15 between 20112016, he spent the majority of his thirtyyear policing career in. Since there is no comprehensive universal definition of what constitutes terrorism, states are free to define terrorism as they deem appropriate. It is argued that such a functionalist approach to defining terrorism captures the core qualities that unite the broad family of both political and nonpolitical terrorist actions. Definition of terrorism under the counterterrorism legislation 14. When cities and towns were captured, most of the muslim and jewish inhabitants. Islamophobia crippling counter terrorism 3 about the authors richard walton is a senior fellow at policy exchange. Terrorism definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Saudi arabias new counterterrorism law includes vague and overly broad definitions of acts of terrorism, in some cases punishable by death, human rights watch. The research includes a broad spectrum of social sciences, physical sciences, and humanities topics using the collections of the library of. The terms terrorist and terrorism originated during the french revolution of the late 18th century but.
Bachelor thesis the origins of terrorism 2 preface terrorism is by many considered as the greatest challenge of the presentday world. It is clear that while the definition of terrorism is broad and the debates around it are contentious and will remain that way for some time to come, it is also clear that any attempt at definition is even more complicated when states and governments endeavour to do so. Human rights violations in subsaharan african countries. Feb 21, 20 professor jonathan matusitz provides a broad definition of terrorism and then breaks it down into several categories. Ultimately, these general definitions of terrorism tend to be either underinclusive or overinclusive. Distribute to students the definitions of terrorism handout 2. A similar broad concept is used in the canadian definition of terrorism in bill c36, which was adopted after the events of september, 11, 200115, and in the definition given in the framework. Without a universal definition of terrorism, states may create broad, overreaching definitions and inadvertently criminalize activity. Yet the decision to take a onesize fits all approach to defining terrorism was. These searches were performed during january and february 2012.
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. Despite broad consensus that the threat of terrorism needs to be addressed urgently, the positions adopted by individual countries, regional and international organisations have resulted in a. May 29, 2008 the current united states approach to state sponsorship of terrorism is flawed, writes daniel byman. The revised academic consensus definition of terrorism by alex p. Under international law, there are certain internationally accepted elements that help accurately define terrorism and terrorist acts.
Most counterterrorism laws make reference to one or more of the following four general categories of harm. Threats, terrorism sources, and terrorism definitions, terrorism and political violence, vol. Common definitions of terrorism refer to violent acts which are intended to create fear terror. Background and issues for congress congressional research service 1 introduction since the terrorist attacks of september 11, 2001 911, domestic terrorists people who commit crimes within the homeland and draw inspiration from u. The working group on countering the use of the internet for terrorist purposes of the counter terrorism implementation task force is aimed at coordinating the activities of the united nations system in support of the united nations global counter terrorism strategy, adopted by the general assembly in its resolution 60288, in which.
Terrorism simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It is little wonder then that the uns policy working group on the united nations and terrorism decided not to devise a definition of. Indeed, since 1996, the general assembly has been considering a draft. Introduction the uk uses the same legal definition for every situation in which terrorism is a legallyrelevant category.
Explain treatybased crimes relevant for prosecuting acts of terrorism, whether at the national or international level. Sep 24, 2019 the definition of terrorism in american law and politics. Bruce hoffman of georgetown university has defined terrorism as violenceor equally important, the threat of violenceused and directed in pursuit of, or in service of, a political aim. Us state department criticises turkish govts broad. Executive order 224 in response to the september 11th terrorist attacks, president bush issued an extremely broad. One problem with such a very general definition is that it makes. Human rights are implicated in the lack of a universal definition of terrorism. Definition of terrorism social and political effects. This handbook describes in plain language the most critical counter terrorism measures in effect as of march 15, 2004 of relevance to u. The emergence of amorphous and largely unknown terrorist individuals and. They may be done for a religious, political, or ideological goal, and uses illegal violence.
Indeed, there is no universally accepted definition of terrorism. Walter laqueur5 uses the simple, broad definition terrorism is the illegitimate use of force to achieve a political objective by targeting innocent people. Definitions of terrorism are complex and controversial. The definition s of terrorism in international law 15 element proper, that is, a dolus specialis. Definition of terrorism social and political effects journal of. The problems of definition version francais defining terrorism has become so polemical and subjective an undertaking as to resemble an art rather than a science.
And once the government does label something terrorism, its a surefire way to justify. Department of homeland security dhs definition of terrorism. Terrorism is the use of fear and acts of violence in order to intimidate societies, governments or against an ideology. These aggrieved groups share two essential characteristics.
Sep 20, 2018 the us state department has criticized turkish governments definition of terrorism, saying, turkey has a broad definition of terrorism that includes crimes against the constitutional order and internal and external security of the state, which the government regularly used to criminalize what the united states would consider the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression and. The report covers a wide range of issues, including. Analysis of ethiopias draft antiterrorism law human. The 2014 law had a very broad definition of terrorist crimes, which encompassed any act directly or indirectly intended to disturb the public order of the state, or to destabilise the. Relative discrimination in use of violence inclusive, for the championed group. Army manual definition terrorism is the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful. Terrorism was still used to mean violence perpetrated by a governmentthe words original meaningwell into the 20th century. They realize that terrorism, however effective for a while, is revolting and cannot be sustained forever.
Professor jonathan matusitz provides a broad definition of terrorism and then breaks it down into several categories. Jun 04, 2018 terrorism remains a contested term, with no set definition for the concept or broad agreement among academic experts on its usage. The difficulty in defining terrorism is in agreeing on a basis for determining when the. Over the years, the word terrorism has been used and. The definition of terrorism terrorism is a contested concept. He suggests that instead of simply managing a list of state sponsors, washington needs to. Early examples of terrorism and terrorist in english come from familiar names from the american revolutionary period, all making clear reference to the french reign of terror and upon the latter occasion, when the party got possession of the convention and began for a while to rule, and were about to reestablish terrorism and not royalty, the royalists shifted their ground in a. In order to contribute to the contemporary debate on terrorism, i made a comparative research, which focuses on the anti terrorism strategies of the united states of america and the. The counter terrorism law reinforces the governments broad powers to investigate and prevent incidents of terrorism and requires citizens and companies to assist and cooperate with the government in such matters. Terrorism is the use of force or violence against persons or property in violation of the criminal laws of the united states for purposes of intimidation, coercion, or ransom. Terrorism is, in the broadest sense, the use of intentional violence for political or religious purposes.
Terrorism the definitional problem case western reserve. Identify and discuss some of the reasons for, and implications of, the absence of a universally accepted definition of terrorism at the global level. Counterterrorism and the protection of human rights. Jun 30, 2009 the draft proclamation provides an extremely broad and ambiguous definition of terrorism that could be used to criminalize nonviolent political dissent and various other activities that should. Defining terrorism in national and international law. Pdf the definitions of terrorism in international law. Terrorism has no official criminal law definition at the international level. Distinguishing between terrorism and freedom struggles. Finally, this gtd codebook supersedes prior codebooks. Under section 2 of the homeland security act of 2002. The foundation of modern terrorism is the work of sergey nechayev, a russian radical who developed strategies.
The definition of terrorism has proved controversial. Terrorism is the use of violence, especially murder and bombing, in order to achieve. The term terrorism means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against. On the 9th november 2005 the then home secretary the rt. In an effort to assist teachers in helping their students identify and understand terrorism, the united states institute of. In particular, the lawmakers have great difficulty in.
Many people use the word terrorism frequently, but they do not all refer to the same thing. Lieutenant colonel jonalan brickey is an information systems officer and the army cyber command fellow at the combating terrorism center, west point. Terrorism as a force in social and international relations appears to some as a relapse into barbarism, a peculiar and dismal aberration of civilized. Texts on the subject proliferate and no standard work on terrorism can be considered complete without at least an introductory chapter being devoted to this issue. Ali khan terrorism sprouts from the existence of aggrieved groups. Tore bjorgo6 states terrorism is a set of methods of combat rather than an identifiable ideology or movement, and involves premeditated use of violence. W e provide a critical discussion of the existing empirical. Jul 09, 20 having a broad definition or multiple definitions increases a governments options for responding. A search of the printed literature was performed with the assistance of the charles sturt university library gregor bruce using the key words of terrorism and definition. 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 proposed by the security council in res. Army manual definition terrorism is the calculated use of unlawful. In such scenarios, the user can filter the data according to specific components of established definitions of 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. Dealing with terrorism has become the centerpiece of u. Jan 18, 2018 standalone terrorism coverage offers a broad definition of terrorism, specifically including sabotage and acts of terrorism for ideological, political and religious purposes, defined as. Title 22, chapter 38 of the united states code regarding the department of state contains a definition of terrorism in its requirement that annual country reports on terrorism be submitted by the secretary of state to congress every year. Many different types of social or political organizations might use terrorism to try to achieve their goals. An overview congressional research service 1 introduction since the terrorist attacks of september 11, 2001 911, domestic terroristspeople who commit crimes within the homeland and draw inspiration from u. An internationally accepted definition of terrorism is required that will distinguish freedom fighting which enjoys a measure of legitimacy among nations from terrorist activity. Freilich, chermak, and simone found that domestic terrorist groups featured prominently among the concerns. You may ask them, for homework, to discuss their group definition and those found on the terrorism definition handout with friends or family members. The abovepresented definition of terrorism was adopted by the state department following the amendments introduced to the us regulations in 2004 in con nection wit h the intelligence reform and. It is welldocumented that overly broad counter terrorism and antiextremism laws have been applied globally over the last two decades, including in the osce region. Nov 23, 2017 saudi arabias new counterterrorism law includes vague and overly broad definitions of acts of terrorism, in some cases punishable by death, human rights watch said today.
It is used in this regard primarily to refer to violence during peacetime or in the context of war against noncombatants mostly civilians and neutral military personnel. Similarly, louise richardson of oxford university believes terrorism. The uk uses the same legal definition for every situation in which terrorism is a legallyrelevant category. Terrorism remains a contested term, with no set definition for the concept or broad agreement among academic experts on its usage. The changing nature of state sponsorship of terrorism. The cyberterrorism definition proposed here is broad enough to give researchers a wider lens to study the cyber capabilities of terrorists across the full spectrum of cyberspace. Yet terrorism, its definition, causes, and methods of dealing with it, has rarely been dealt with in high school courses. A too broad definition of terrorist act for several decades, governments and experts have tried to draw up an international definition of terrorism that meets the requirements of the principle of legality and that is ideologically neutral. Try to convince citizens that their government is powerless to prevent terrorism.
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