Terrorism

Terrorism is not a new phenomenon, even if its recent manifestations are new in various ways. In fact, some historically significant terrorist organizations were prevalent in the late 18th century [Page 1023]during the so-called Reign of Terror during the French Revolution (the Committees of Public Safety and General Security), in 19th-century Russia (the Narodnkik, or Populists), and in the post–World War II period during anticolonialist movements in Africa (e.g., Algeria) and elsewhere. That said, the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., by al Qaeda operatives catapulted international terrorism to the top of the security and political agendas of Western liberal democracies and produced immediate and profound global consequences, not only politically and militarily ...