NCJ Number
56210
Date Published
1979
Length
27 pages
Annotation
BASED ON A COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY OF JOURNALISTIC ACCOUNTS OF TERRORISM WORLDWIDE FROM 1961 TO 1970, THE PATTERNS AND OBJECTIVES OF POLITICAL TERRORISM ARE EXAMINED, ALONG WITH THE CHARACTERISTICS OF TERRORIST GROUPS.
Abstract
THE PURPORTED SCOPE AND EFFECT OF POLITICAL TERRORISM IN THE 20TH CENTURY HAVE GROWN RAPIDLY DUE TO REAL AND FREQUENT OCCURRENCES OF POLITICAL BOMBINGS, KIDNAPPINGS, AND ASSASSINATIONS. MOST OFFICIALS AND ORDINARY PEOPLE IN WESTERN SOCIETY HAVE COME TO AGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING GENERALIZATIONS: POLITICAL TERRORISM IS A DISTINCTIVE REVOLUTIONARY STRATEGY IN WHICH SUSTAINED CAMPAIGNS OF VIOLENCE ARE DIRECTED AGAINST HIGHLY VISIBLE TARGETS; IT IS A RELATIVELY NEW STRATEGY, ONE THAT HAS BEEN RESORTED TO INCREASINGLY BY YOUTHFUL MEMBERS OF THE MIDDLE CLASS; IT IS A THREATENING FORM OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE, BOTH BECAUSE OF ITS DESTRUCTIVENESS AND ITS POTENTIAL REVOLUTIONARY CONSEQUENCES; AND IT HAS A PRONOUNCED INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION IN THAT TERRORISTS RELY ON SUBSTANTIAL SUPPORT FROM SIMILAR GROUPS ELSEWHERE AND FROM OTHER NATIONS. HOWEVER, LITTLE OR NO EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THESE CONCLUSIONS AND BY PLOTTING THE INCIDENCE OF TERRORISTS' ACTS OVER TIME AND AMONG COUNTRIES, CATEGORIZING THEIR TARGETS, IDENTIFYING THE KINDS OF GROUPS INVOLVED, AND EVALUATING THEIR MOTIVES, A VERY DIFFERENT VIEW OF GLOBAL TERRORISM EMERGES. DATA ON TERRORISM DURING THE 1960'S IN 87 COUNTRIES THROUGHOUT EUROPE, AFRICA, THE MIDDLE EAST, ASIA, AND NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA INDICATE THAT THE TYPICAL TERRORIST CAMPAIGN WAS CONDUCTED BY TINY GROUPS AND WAS SHORT-LIVED. THEIR PUBLIC MOTIVES WERE NOT NOTABLY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE OF GROUPS USING OTHER UNCONVENTIONAL METHODS OF POLITICAL ACTION. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE PERPETRATORS OF TERRORIST ACTIVITIES SEEMED MORE OFTEN MOTIVATED BY HOSTILITY TOWARD PARTICULAR POLICIES AND POLITICAL FIGURES THAN BY REVOLUTIONARY ASPIRATIONS. THEIR ACTIONS WERE MORE OFTEN A SOCIAL NUISANCE THAN A SERIOUS THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY, MORE OFTEN A SECURITY PROBLEM THAN AN IMMINENT REVOLUTION. IN FACT, NO SINGLE UNAMBIGUOUS INSTANCE CAN BE IDENTIFIED IN NEARLY TWO DECADES IN WHICH A CAMPAIGN OF POLITICAL TERRORISM LED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY TO A REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE OF THE KIND CHAMPIONED BY THE LEFT. TABULAR DATA AND REFERENCE NOTES ARE INCLUDED. (KBL)