Terrorism Flashcards
What is the UK operational, legal definition?
Actual or threatened acts of violence against people/property desinged to influence the government, or to intimidate the public or to advance a political, religious, racial or ideological cause
What are the common themes in defining?
Perpetration/threat of violence
political dimension
What are the 4 distinctions between terrorism and Violence?
It is always premeditated
It retains symbolic element
it is usually considered to be extra normal
it is used to influence political behaviour (Wilkinson 2006)
What does extra normal mean?
Violates the norm regarding disputes, protests & dissents
influences political behaviour i,e taking over power of a country
What are definitions determined by?
Perspective
“one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter”
What is state sponsored terrorism?
directed at people within their country eg saddam hussein, iraq (Internal)
Directed at another state eg Russia, Libya in 70s/80s, North Korea (External)
Ethno-nationalist terrorism?
eg ETA, spain.
wanted land back, target civil police, local and national politicians
Ideological terrorism?
eg Red Brigade, Italy Class warfare and revolution. Targets were the establishment. concerned with symbolism and class oppression
Relgio-political terrorism?
eg Hamas, Palestine
Make demands for a specific territory
Single issue terrorism?
eg Animal liberation front
violence against people who worked in labs
New Terrorism?
Radical transformation - identifiable shifts in motivation, means of perpetration, the use of violence and the hoped for ulimate outcomes, particularly post 9/11
New terrorism wants to cause as much death and destruction as possible
Whats happened post 9/11
Using internet to attack. although some states like to steal information
hostile attacks on UK cyberspace
What are motivations of offenders?
Hard to define as different perspectives
can’t really know motivations of offenders - no way to speak to them
what is an economic approach to terrorism?
Game theory - 1 party anticipates action of other and behaves in way that corresponds with what they think theyre going to do next, its rational - maximum benefit
What is the individual as primary unit of analysis?
Piven 2002
Terrorists suffer from low self esteem, paranoia, lack of empathy and preoccupation with power
Thackrah 2004
Terrorists choose a ‘distubed relationship with their own identity”
BUT
Leons and Harbinson - terrorists are more healthy and stable than other violent criminals
