Terrorism is the use of violence (often against civilian targets)
to instill fear, generate publicity, and sometimes destabilize governments.
Generally speaking, small groups fighting against powerful states practice
terrorism, but governments also have the ability to practice terrorism. Throughout
history, terrorism has taken many forms. Just in the last two centuries, for
example, terrorism has been used by Russian nihilists, nationalists in Israel, Nazi
forces, environmentalists worldwide, left-wing guerrillas in Europe, discontented
radicals in the United States, Latin American death squads, and Islamic
fundamentalists. Terrorism is not tied to any one particular ideology or group.
Types of Terrorism
Scholars generally classify terrorism into two types: terrorism practiced
by governments and terrorism practiced by groups not affiliated with a
government. Ideological terrorism aims to promote a particular
belief system through acts of violence; it may be practiced by both governments
and groups.
TYPES OF TERRORISM
|
Terrorism Practiced by Governments
|
-
State terrorism: A government commits acts of terror
against its own citizens.
-
International terrorism (also known as state-sponsored terrorism): A government supplies
and trains terrorists to make attacks in other
countries.
|
Terrorism Practiced by Groups
|
-
Antistate terrorism: Any terrorist act not committed
by a government
-
Domestic terrorism: A group with no ties to another
country or government commits terrorist acts within its own
country.
|
Some types of terrorism fit into more than one of these categories.
Suicide bombings in Israel, for example, are ideological (promoting a
Palestinian state and sometimes also promoting Islamic fundamentalism),
state-sponsored (a number of Arab governments fund the bombers), and domestic
(many are carried out by Arabs living in Israel).
The Purpose of Terrorism
Terrorist acts ultimately aim to undermine governments and disrupt
societies. Many terrorists are young, frustrated men who feel that they have
been treated unjustly. Sometimes terrorists try to destabilize a government
directly, via assassinations, kidnappings, and the bombing of government
buildings. Terrorists can also work to undermine governments indirectly by
showing people that their leaders are too weak to prevent the attacks and that
an active resistance movement exists. Sometimes, terrorists attack in order to
provoke a strong response from the government, hoping that the response will
alienate more people from the government and foster even more political discord.
Example: Many scholars and political
analysts have argued that President George W. Bush played into al Qaeda’s
hands by passing the Patriot Act in 2001 and by invading Iraq in 2003. The
Patriot Act gave the federal government more power to detain and question
suspected terrorists—often without trial—and to monitor suspicious activity.
The Iraq War, meanwhile, deeply divided Americans when it became clear that
Saddam Hussein had no connection with al Qaeda and was not harboring weapons
of mass destruction. The federal government’s suspension of some civil
liberties along with the specter of deceit has shattered much of the unity
Americans felt in the wake of the September 11th terrorist
attacks.
