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Terrorism: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Terrorism
The term terrorism was born not from a battlefield, but from the political chaos of the French Revolution, specifically during the Reign of Terror that began in 1793. It was originally a self-description used by the Jacobin Club to justify their violent purge of political enemies, with leader Maximilien Robespierre declaring that terror was nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, and inflexible. By 1795, the word had become a slur used by opponents like Edmund Burke, who denounced the Jacobins for letting thousands of hell-hounds called terrorists loose on the people of France. This historical origin reveals that the label has always been a tool of political warfare, used to demonize opponents while simultaneously describing the very acts of violence the labeler condemns. The concept has evolved from a specific description of state-sanctioned fear to a broad, often contested umbrella term covering everything from political assassinations to mass civilian casualties. Today, the word serves as a moral shorthand, yet its definition remains so fluid that philosophers and politicians disagree on whether terrorism is wrong by definition or wrong only as a matter of fact. The ambiguity of the term allows it to be applied to a rag-bag of phenomena, ranging from the actions of the Irish Republican Army to the attacks on the World Trade Center, making it one of the most politically charged words in modern history.
The Birth Of Modern Fear
The first organization to employ modern terrorist techniques was the Irish Republican Brotherhood, founded in 1858 as a revolutionary nationalist group that carried out attacks in England. In 1881, this group initiated the Fenian dynamite campaign, which marked a pivotal shift from targeting specific individuals to using timed explosives to sow fear in the heart of metropolitan Britain. This strategy was designed to achieve political gains by attacking the very infrastructure of the state rather than just its leaders. Around the same time, the Russian anarchist group Narodnaya Volya, founded in 1878, developed the idea of targeted killing of leaders of oppression, utilizing the invention of dynamite to strike with discrimination. The Western world, particularly France, entered the Ère des attentats between 1892 and 1894, a period characterized by a surge in terrorist acts following the bombings of Ravachol. During this era, terrorism shifted from being person-based to location-based, starting with the Saint-Germain bombing. The Liceu bombing, the stabbing on the 13th of November 1893, and the Café Terminus attack laid the foundation for mass or indiscriminate terrorism. Émile Henry, responsible for the Café Terminus bombing, explicitly claimed the birth of this new form of terrorism, stating that he wanted to strike at random. These early campaigns established the core tactic of modern terrorism: using violence against non-combatants to create a psychological impact that far exceeds the immediate physical damage.
Common questions
When did the term terrorism originate and who used it first?
The term terrorism originated during the Reign of Terror that began in 1793. It was originally a self-description used by the Jacobin Club to justify their violent purge of political enemies.
What organization first employed modern terrorist techniques and when?
The Irish Republican Brotherhood was the first organization to employ modern terrorist techniques. This group was founded in 1858 and initiated the Fenian dynamite campaign in 1881.
Who published the seminal article Fear and Trembling in 1984?
David C. Rapoport published the seminal article Fear and Trembling in 1984. This article challenged the view that terrorism was solely a product of 19th-century revolutionary politics.
What percentage of terrorists come from impoverished families according to a 2007 study?
Only 16 percent of terrorists come from impoverished families according to a 2007 study by economist Alan B. Krueger. This finding contradicts the popular belief that terrorists are typically economically desperate.
What percentage of media attention does terrorism receive compared to the percentage of deaths it causes?
The percentage of media attention for terrorism ranges from 33 to 35 percent. This figure is much greater than the percentage of deaths caused by terrorism, which is less than 0.01 percent.
How do most terrorist groups end their activities according to researchers Jones and Libicki?
Most terrorist groups end by converting to nonviolent political actions. Researchers Jones and Libicki found that 43 percent of groups that ended converted to nonviolent political actions.
For decades, scholars viewed terrorism as a product of 19th-century revolutionary politics, but David C. Rapoport published a seminal article in 1984 titled Fear and Trembling that challenged this view. Rapoport proposed three case studies to demonstrate the ancient lineage of religious terrorism, which he called sacred terror, including the Thugs, the Assassins, and the Jewish Sicarii Zealots. He argued that religious terrorism has been ongoing since ancient times and that there are signs that it is reviving in new and unusual forms. A decade later, Bruce Hoffman formulated a model of contemporary holy terror, arguing that religious terrorists carry out indiscriminate acts of violence as a divine duty with no consideration for political efficacy. Unlike secular terrorists who seek political goals, religious terrorists view holy terror as an end in itself, believing that a transcendental purpose justifies any means. This shift was evident in the 1980s when only two out of 64 terrorist groups were categorized as having religious motivation, but by 1995, almost half of 56 groups were religiously motivated, with the majority having Islam as their guiding force. The rise of groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant demonstrated that religious doctrine could be more important than political rationale, creating a form of terrorism that is often immune to traditional negotiation or deterrence.
The Psychology Of The Perpetrator
Contrary to popular belief, terrorists are not typically psychologically disturbed or economically desperate. A 2007 study by economist Alan B. Krueger found that terrorists were less likely to come from an impoverished background and more likely to have at least a high-school education. Another analysis found that only 16 percent of terrorists came from impoverished families, versus 30 percent of the general male Palestinian population, and over 60 percent had gone beyond high school. Ariel Merari, a psychologist who has studied the psychological profiles of suicide terrorists since 1983, concluded that they were unlikely to be psychologically abnormal. They do not kill themselves simply out of hopelessness or a sense of having nothing to lose. Instead, individual terrorists tend to be motivated more by a desire for social solidarity with other members of their organization than by political platforms or strategic objectives. A report by Paul Gill, John Horgan, and Paige Deckert found that for lone wolf terrorists, 43 percent were motivated by religious beliefs, 32 percent had pre-existing mental health disorders, and 40 percent were unemployed at the time of their arrest. The majority of terrorist attacks are carried out by military age men, aged 16 to 40, who look, dress, and behave normally until executing their assigned mission. This normalcy allows them to avoid detection, as the physical and behavioral description of a terrorist could describe almost any normal person.
The Media And The Spectacle
Terrorism is often described as a form of asymmetric warfare, but it is equally a form of public relations and propaganda, a concept known as propaganda by the deed. The El Al Flight 426 hijacking is considered a turning point for modern terrorism studies, as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine realized they could combine the tactics of targeting national symbols and civilians to generate a mass media spectacle. Zehdi Labib Terzi made a public statement in 1976 noting that the first several hijackings aroused the consciousness of the world and awakened the media and world opinion much more effectively than 20 years of pleading at the United Nations. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously spoke of the close connection between terrorism and the media, calling publicity the oxygen of terrorism. The percentage of media attention for terrorism, which ranges from 33 to 35 percent, is much greater than the percentage of deaths caused by terrorism, which is less than 0.01 percent. This disparity creates a cycle where terrorists perform more extreme acts to be shown in the mass media, while governments and media outlets struggle to balance the need for information with the risk of amplifying the terrorist message. The Internet has created a new way for groups to spread their messages, leading to a cycle of measures and countermeasures that further entrenches the relationship between violence and visibility.
The State And The Shadow
While the term terrorism is often applied to non-state actors, the concept of state terrorism refers to terrorist acts committed by governmental agents or forces. Professor of Political Science Michael Stohl cites examples that include the German bombing of London, the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Allied firebombing of Dresden, and the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. He argues that the use of terror tactics is common in international relations and the state has been and remains a more likely employer of terrorism within the international system than insurgents. State terrorism involves the use of state resources employed by a state's foreign policy, such as using its military to directly perform acts of terrorism, or political repressions by governments against their own civilian populations with the purpose of inciting fear. The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee has stated that the committee was conscious of 12 international conventions on the subject, and none of them referred to state terrorism, which was not an international legal concept. Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that it is time to set aside debates on so-called state terrorism, arguing that the use of force by states is already thoroughly regulated under international law. Despite this, state terrorism, often described as democide or genocide, has been a more deadly form of terrorism than non-state terrorism, with institutionalized instrumentation of terror tactics through massacres, forced disappearances, and torture.
The End Of The Group
The most common way for a terrorist group to end is not through military defeat, but by converting to nonviolent political actions. Researchers Jones and Libicki found that of the groups that ended, 43 percent converted to nonviolent political actions, like the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland, while 40 percent were defeated by law enforcement. Only 7 percent were defeated by military force, and 10 percent succeeded. When militant groups face violent competition from other groups, they often shift from high-profile attacks on civilians to more restrained tactics, a strategy of terrorist restraint that arises due to resource constraints and fear of civilian backlash. Audrey Cronin lists six primary ways that terrorist groups end, including the capture or killing of a group's leader, entry into a legitimate political process, achievement of group aims, group implosion or loss of public support, defeat and elimination through brute force, and transition from terrorism into other forms of violence. The data suggests that military force may be necessary to deal with large insurgencies but is only occasionally decisive, because the military is too often seen as a bigger threat to civilians than the terrorists. To avoid that, the rules of engagement must be conscious of collateral damage and work to minimize it, as the more force is used, the less effective it may be in winning the battle for the hearts and minds of the civilian population.