ABSTRACT
A DEFINITION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS It seems mere common sense to begin any serious discussion of terrorism with an attempt at definition. After all, how can we talk sensibly about the topic unless we know what the topic is? It is true that there are various objections to common sense at this point, but I shall not pursue them here beyond remarking that widespread disarray among theorists about what to count as terrorism suggests the importance of declaring a definitional position at the outset and noting its major intellectual and moral implications.1
