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¶ … hundreds of definitions of terrorism issued by scholars in different sciences and government agencies. There is no generally accepted definition for terrorism, although the international law is making use of a legally accepted definition of the term. After having gathered and analyzed hundreds of such definitions, Alex Peter Schmid offered a definition of terrorism that in his view eliminated the numerous questions and misunderstandings previous definitions might have arisen: "Terrorism is a method of combat in which random or symbolic victims serve as an instrumental target of violence. These instrumental victims share group or class characteristics which form the basis for their selection for victimization. Through previous use of violence or the credible threat of violence other members of that group or class are put in a state of chronic fear (terror)…. "
The following two definitions used by government agencies or departments state the following:
Department of Homeland Security -- Federal Emergency Management Agency: "Terrorism is the use of force or violence against persons or property in violation of the criminal laws of the United States for purposes of intimidation, coercion, or ransom"
State Department: (Title 22 of the United States Code, Section 2656f (d)) That statute contains the following definitions: "The term terrorism means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated...
Dep. Of State, 2004, "Patterns of Global Terrorism")
R.P Hoffman's definition of terrorism: "Terrorism is a purposeful political activity which is directed toward the creation of a general climate of fear, and is designed to influence, in ways desired by the protagonist, other human beings and, through them, some course of events"
Most of the definitions, the four above included, use the common known concept: "violence" or "force." The definition used by the Department of Homeland Security does not include the type of purposes: political or general, while Hoffman categorizes the purposes of terrorism as "political." Title 22 of the United States Code adds to the concept of "political" that of "premeditation" in its definition of terrorism. The Department of Homeland security excludes the violation of criminal laws other than the U.S. laws, restraining it to the terrorist acts committed on U.S. soil. The same definition used by the State Department does not state the relationship between victims to terrorism and the targeted audience. Schmid offered the most comprehensive definition although it became exhaustive and thus overstepped the boundaries of a classic definition, supporting his choice for the extensive number of concepts he used in his definition with the argument that he did that for the…
Latin America American terrorism issues and possible convergence with drug cartels in Central and South America Terrorism in Latin America Columbia The leftist National Liberation Army (ELN) United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) The leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Cuba Venezuela Mexico Iranian Activity and Sponsorship Focus Tri- Boarder area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay Regional Overview and Criminal Activities and Concerns Parallel developments of Terrorism and Organized Crime Poverty, Discrimination and Relative Denial Interconnections between Terrorism and Organized Crime Groups Abu Nidal organization (ANO) The
Terrorism in the contemporary society - UK Terrorism is a serious issue in the contemporary society and the international public is actively involved in fighting it through a wide range of channels, both organized and improvised. While terrorism was previously regarded as being a concept with a lesser felt presence in the West, recent decades have proved otherwise and have made it possible for the masses to understand that they are
Although they created considerable turmoil in Germany for over a decade, it is questionable what they actually accomplished. The Gang gradually disappeared from the scene and has not been heard from for a number of years. Their activities, however, did cause a major change in how Germany, as a nation, addressed terrorism within its borders. Because of the Gang's activities, Germany enacted some of the broadest enforcement laws available
Terrorism Preparedness Since September 11, 2001, the United States has made a significant progress guiding against terrorist attacks using terrorism preparedness to forestall further terrorism attacks in the United States. Terrorism preparedness exercise is a broad range of response and preparedness program to support communities that might be affected by the terrorist attack. (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, 2004). Typically, the U.S. government has implemented a range of program for terrorism preparedness
No matter the actual cost of terrorism in terms of the economic damage, the perception that investment is going to incur higher risk will inevitably lead to the conclusion that it will also incur higher costs. Since higher costs are generally an anathema to transnational business, it stands that capital would move away from areas that have experienced terrorism. In fact, this is born out by the numbers. As
Terrorism has a long and violent history and incidents of terrorism have been recorded from at least 2,000 years ago. Acts of terrorism have included political assassinations, violent political revolutions, hijackings, skyjackings, and bombings intended to attract attention, shock, intimidate and instill fear. Before the 911 terror attacks the threat of terrorism, though always a potential danger, was of an episodic nature, and seemed to be under control. The devastating