Essay about What is Terrorism, Who Conducts it, and The Intended Target

“the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.” Within this definition, there are three key

The word ‘terrorism’ can be traced back to the French Revolution and the reign of terror committed against the population of France in the 1790s. During this time, thousands of people were killed and the general population was severely oppressed. Also, some of the first instances of terrorist tactics, such as assassination and intimidation, were witnessed in the killing of prominent officials and other opponents of the Revolution. In general, terrorists aim to incite fear in the population through pre-meditated violent acts and gain publicity as a medium in achieving their goals. Such acts include taking hostages, bombings and assassinations, all of which create fear and compliance in a victim or audience. Terrorism can be distinguished from other types of political violence through its disregard for and intentional harming of innocent civilians. Also, terrorists usually adopt a state of mind where one side is always good and any opposition is bad and deserves to be punished. As a result, terrorists will always have some supporters who share the same radical thoughts as them and thus terrorism, as a whole, will always be accepted as a legitimate use of violence. This is the reasoning behind the famous phrase by Gerald Seymour, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”(QUOTE

Terrorism is a major threat to national and global security that encompasses more than violent means by foreigners and Islamic extremists. This is mainly because most of the recent terror acts in America have been carried out by single-issue individuals and special-interest extremists with the intention of protecting the environment and animals based on their beliefs. Actually, terrorism is described as the illegitimate use of extreme violence and force with the intention of coercing a

Committing an act of terrorism means that you have harmed innocent people (either directly via force of indirectly via destruction of property) in order to intimidate a population or government to do or abstain from doing something...

Terrorism is an act of violence, usually done in the public sphere, which is used to incite fear in a population in order to coerce change in public opinion or a government’s position on an issue. In many parts of the world, groups wage war with their countries, either to separate from the government or to overthrow it entirely. Sometimes these people are treated unfairly by their government, and their struggles are justified. Other times, these groups use violence against both military and civilian targets, terrorizing innocent bystanders to get what they want—these groups are terrorists. Often, though, it is difficult to tell the difference.

They elucidate that terrorism is a “premeditated, politically motivated, violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups of clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience,” (National Institute of Justice).

The word “terrorism” was first used during the French Revolution when British statesman Edmond Burke used the term to describe the actions of the Jacobin-dominated French government. Under the leadership of Maximilien Robespierre, thousands of people that were said to be enemies of the state were put on trial and then executed by use of the guillotine (O 'Connor, 2006). However, since the inception of the word, it has taken on a new meaning. One can now hear the word “terrorism” and be overcome by anger or even fear. Terrorism now seems to have turned to attacks against a government rather

Terrorism has been around since at least the First Century. Terrorism is a crime in which people or groups of people use, or say they will use, violence in order to get what they want from the government or society. A terrorist is a person who uses violence and fear to achieve political

There have been various definitions and views of terrorism that have beenfronted over the years. It has been described as a strategy and at other levels as a tactic, some have called it a crime and yet other refer to it as a holy/noble duty; some consider it an inexcusable abomination yet others consider it a systematic reaction to oppression. Obviously, a lot depends on whose point of view is being represented, be it theological, political or psychological. Also terrorism can be seen as willful destruction (killing) of people or destruction of property by people not acting on behalf of an established government to redress a real or imaginary injustice attributed to an established government. However it is important to note that not all cases of willful destruction of people or property are acts of terrorism (Red Cross Organization, 2007).

Terrorism is the systematic use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of the political aims. The events that have occurred in the 1700's turned the patriots into a party of rebels that began sending alarming threats to the colonists and the King.

Terrorism in the twenty-first century has some similarities and differences from terrorism in the twentieth century. Terrorism is, in its broadest sense, the use or threatened use of violence in order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological aim. Also useful to remember that because the two entities involved, the terrorists and the terrorized, are on the opposite end of the political, religious or ideological continuum, the same act is viewed by them differently. There is much sense in the phrase one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.

The history of terrorism can be traced back as far as the French revolution. Some of these acts of terrorism only seem as distant reminders of our past, but at the same time, are not a far cry from today’s brutal acts; and although these acts seem distant, it doesn’t also mean they are no longer in the thoughts of individuals in today’s time.

Think of the word terrorism. What is the first thing that comes to mind? One might think of kidnapping, assassination, bombing, or even genocide and guerrilla warfare. Because it is such a broad and complex issue, an all-encompassing definition is hard to formulate. The United States Department of Defence defines terrorism as…

Terrorism is defined as the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, as a mean to create terror or fear, in the pursuit of political, religious, or ideological aims. This definition fits the images we see on the news, or in other words, images that are readily available in our mind, bombings, fire, terror, enduring people, and aggressive terrorist. As availability heuristic is not always accurate, this general definition also does not tell us the whole picture of the reality and how terrorism arises.

Terrorism like any other political concepts has encountered various definitions by different scholars and organizations. It has no precise or broadly accepted definition, but to put it in a description way, it would be simply stating terrorism as “a violence or the threat of violence calculated to create an atmosphere of fear and alarm – in a word, to terrorize- and thereby bring about some social or political change” (Rapoport, 2002). Furthermore, the term of terrorism has been defined by the U.S. Department of Defense, which is defined as “ the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally