ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 defines terrorism and identifies it as a political act, a threatening act, and a communicative act. Regarding the latter, communication is inherent to terrorist endeavors. Each attack produces some type of interaction with the public. It is generally an audience beyond the immediate victims; the main targets of influence are those witnessing the attack and the state. Also described are (1) the different types of terrorists, non-state actors and insurgent groups, and (2) the targets of terrorism. Examples are direct victims, indirect victims, and symbolic targets. This chapter ends with an extensive description of lone-wolf terrorism. Lone wolves are terrorists who act individually, are not members of a terrorist group, and have been more difficult to identify by authorities. The notion of violent true believer (VTB) is also of importance here: a VTB is dedicated to an ideology or doctrine that advocates massacre or suicide terrorism as an ideal method of advancing his or her cause.
