Introduction to Terrorism (From Terrorism and America: A Commonsense Strategy for a Democratic Society, P 1-18, 1998, Philip B. Heymann, -- See NCJ-191436)

• NCJ Number: 191437
• Author(s): Philip B. Heymann
• Date Published: 1998
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: MIT Press
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter examines the differences in definitions of terrorism and the difficulties of placing it within more familiar contexts of crime, warfare, or politics.

Abstract

Violence as politics has been a subject of great concern in many other democracies for generations. United States Federal statutes define an “act of terrorism” as any activity that involves criminal violence that is intended to intimidate a civilian population, influence the policy of a government, or affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping. States use violence themselves for political purposes--in wartime even against civilian populations. The state definitions suggest that terrorists are a hostile force pursuing political ends. The definition of terrorism is difficult because of different judgements about the centrality of the moral issue. The fundamental difficulties of defining terrorism are compounded by the difficulties of shaping policy for a type of behavior that fits poorly into more familiar categories. Terrorism is different from a crime because most crimes do not involve trying to change the occupants of government positions, their actions, or the basic structures and ideology of a nation. Terrorism differs from other forms of violent combat for political ends in that it is carried out during peacetime in secret, without occupying any significant territory, and without organizing large groups to defy government authority openly. The major force of terrorism comes not from its physical impact but from its psychological impact. By generating a combination of fear and fascination, terrorists have been able to capture important parts of the agendas of great nations. Terrorism can affect the policies of modern democratic states when it is operating in a country whose population is already severely divided into suspicious and hostile groups; and when a government deems acceptance of the terrorist demands as far less onerous than the ongoing campaign of terror.