ABSTRACT

Terrorism has traditionally been used by political minorities wishing to undermine a hated authoritarian regime. From the anarchic regicides of the eighteenth century to the anti-Tsarist conspiracies, history is replete with homicidal acts intended to cause terror and chaos. To understand the nature and objectives of terrorism, it must first be distinguished from other, apparently similar phenomena. Terrorism must also be distinguished from the actions of insurgent groups fighting to subvert the government of a given state. The aim of terrorism is predominantly political. It seeks to provoke utterly indiscriminate reprisals, so as to compel the enemy to radicalize its own position and to generalize repression. Ideological terrorism is not confined to a specific geographical area but is supranational in character. The United States Department of State defines terrorism as “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents”.