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Terrorism

The subject of terrorism is of central relevance for policymakers in the United States and allied governments. Domestically, homeland security has become an endemic feature of American culture at every level of government and in the private sector. In particular, the armed forces of the United States have significantly adapted operational doctrine and training to respond to the global threat posed by terrorists.

Terrorism has been a disturbing attribute of human conflict since the first accounts of warfare and conquest were recorded. History is replete with episodes of terrorism, commonly rationalized as a necessary means to achieve superior ends. Nations and empires have eliminated enemies on a grand scale, insurgent movements and zealous individuals have violently sown widespread disorder, and political and religious ideologies have glorified extremist behavior—incidents that perpetrators hold to be completely justifiable.

The evolution of terrorism in the modern era is primarily, though not exclusively, a conflict between adversaries waging, on one side, a self-described war on terrorism and, on the other, a self-described holy war in defense of their religion. It emerged in the modern era but has taken new forms in the decade following the attacks of September 11. This entry first considers the definition of terrorism, its causes, and its goals and then examines the characteristics of terrorism in the post-9/11 world. The use of weapons of mass destruction and the indiscriminate use of violence typify this modern terrorism, which has been manifested in asymmetric warfare carried out by urban guerrilla movements and suicide bombings.

Defining Terrorism

Some acts of political violence are clearly acts of terrorism. Most people would agree that politically motivated bombings of marketplaces, massacres of enemy civilians, and routine government use of torture are terrorist acts. Behind each incident of terrorist violence is some deeply held belief system that has motivated the perpetrators. Such systems are, at their core, extremist systems characterized by intolerance. Extremism is a precursor to terrorism—it is an overarching belief system terrorists use to justify their violent behavior. Those who violently act out their extremist beliefs are terrorists. However, it is important to appreciate that there are many definitional gray areas. Depending on which side of the ideological, racial, religious, or national fence one sits, political violence can be interpreted either as acts of unmitigated terrorist barbarity or as freedom fighting and national liberation.

Among experts, there is some consensus—but no unanimity—on what kind of violence constitutes an act of terrorism. Governments, individual agencies within governments, and private agencies have each developed, adopted, and designed their own definitions, and academic experts have proposed and analyzed dozens of definitional constructs. One complication is that most definitions focus on political violence perpetrated by dissident groups, even though many governments have practiced terrorism as both domestic and foreign policy. The result is a remarkable variety of approaches and definitions. This lack of unanimity, which exists throughout the public and private sectors, is an accepted reality in the study of political violence.

The United States has not adopted a single definition of terrorism as a matter of government policy, instead relying on definitions developed from time to time by government agencies. These definitions reflect the U.S. traditional law enforcement approach to distinguishing terrorism from more common criminal behavior. The following definitions are a sample of the official approach.

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