Definitions of Terrorism

Definitions of Terrorism

In order to understand the phenomenon of terrorism, one must assess the divergent views of what exactly constitutes terrorism. Reaching a general consensus on the definition of terrorism has generated much debate in the social sciences. No specific definition seems to satisfy the broad interpretation of what specifically is terrorism.

The following are samples of the diverse definitions used to describe terrorism:

Type	Definition
Simple	Violence or threatened violence intended to produce fear or change.
Legal	Criminal violence violating legal codes and punishable by the state
Analytical	Specific political and social factors behind individual terrorist acts
State-sponsored	Terrorist groups used by small states and the Communist bloc to attack western interests
State	Power of the government used to terrorize its people into submission

Source: Jonathan R. White. 1991. Terrorism: An Introduction.

In his book Political Terrorism (1983), Alex Schmid surveyed 100 scholars and experts in the field and asked for a definition of terrorism. This analysis found two characteristics of the definition: first, an individual being terrorized and second, the terrorist act meaning is derived from its target and victims. Schmid's analysis concluded that the following elements are common throughout the 100 definitions surveyed. They are as follows:

Terrorism is an abstract concept with no essence

A single definition cannot account for all the possible uses of the term

Many different definitions share common elements

The meaning of terrorism derives from the victim of target

Source: Alex P. Scmid. 1983. Political Terrorism.

Terrorists believe their cause to be altruistic and serving for the better of society. Bruce Hoffman in his most recent work Inside Terrorism (1998) states that the terrorist is fundamentally a violent intellectual, prepared to use and indeed committed to using force in the attainment of his goals. (p. 43). He also adds that by distinguishing terrorists from other types of criminals and terrorism from other forms of crime, we come to appreciate that terrorism is:

ineluctably political in aims and motives;

violent-or, equally important, threatens violence;

designed to have far-reaching psychological repercussions beyond the immediate victim of target;

conducted by an organization with an identifiable chain of command or conspiratorial cell structure (whose members wear no uniform or identifying insignia); and

perpetrated by a sub-national group or non-state entity.

Source: Bruce Hoffman. 1998. Inside Terrorism.