Terrorism, International

International terrorism is the phenomenon of extremely violent activities against a population for political or religious purposes that are not related to a specific domestic conflict in particular, but rather to some struggle of a global nature. In this entry, the definition, significance, and justification of international terrorism are discussed and measures that have been taken against it are presented.

Definition

The notion of international terrorism is used in two different senses. In a narrow sense, international terrorism is a special form of domestic terrorism. Consider the following elements of terrorism in general:

• It is a practice of violence.
• The practice involves acts of killing and injuring people who do not jeopardize the life or health of the agents of the practice, as well as threats to perform such acts.
• The practice is used against members of a certain population.
• The practice is used in a regular manner.
• The practice is used in order to terrorize that population.
• The practice is used in order to change the political situation by means of terrorizing the population.
• The practice is used on political, ideological, or religious grounds that justify it in the eyes of its agents.

In domestic terrorism, the purpose of the practice of violence is to change the political situation of a certain state. The means of terrorizing the population of that state are by the killing or injuring of members of that population. Thus, the purpose, the terrorized population, and the victims are all of a domestic nature. However, sometimes one or more of these domestic elements take a form that extends beyond the confines of a single state and population. Activities of terrorism can be related to a region that overlaps a number of states. Attempts to terrorize the population of a nationstate can involve killing people of the same nation but not of the same state. Such activities are often described as cases of transnational terrorism.

International terrorism in the broad sense is not a special form of domestic terrorism, but rather a different kind of terrorism. The purpose of resorting to the practice of violence is not related to any state or some adjacent states in particular, but is global in nature. The intended targets of terrorism are not those of a certain state or nation, but are of a much broader nature, such as members of a certain civilization. Consequently, the intended victims are also members of a broadly and vaguely delineated group of people. In the following text, international terrorism in the broad sense of the term is discussed.

Significance

The phenomenon of international terrorism has changed the role of death in the life of numerous people in numerous areas on the globe in two fundamental ways. First, the constant state of personal insecurity has become widespread. Given ideal conditions of eternal peace, no human being's life is constantly under jeopardy. In ordinary conditions that do not involve terrorism of any kind, most human beings are members of groups that are immune from military or similar enemy attacks. Under conditions of domestic terrorism, human beings who are not involved in the domestic conflict and reside away from the territory of the conflict usually do not have to face daily insecurity. However, when conditions of international terrorism obtain, human beings who do not consider themselves parties to any global conflict, because they are not responsible in any significant way for what caused the conflict or what has happened or is about to happen within its global framework, are constantly jeopardized.

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