Abstract
‘One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.’ Although this is a much overused and, to many, trite cliché, it does, nevertheless, capture a central problem in the study of terrorism: the failure to establish a universally accepted definition of the concept under study. Indeed, certain commentators believe there to be no definition of terrorism at all — merely a Babylonic confusion of meanings.1 However, if effective counter measures are to be framed against the threat of terrorism, one requires, at the very least, an identification of the problem at hand in a form which allows it to be addressed in an acceptable fashion. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a satisfactory definition of terrorism, conceptualizing the concept in a manner that will yield more than a superficial congruence of opinion.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
Richard Thackrah, ‘Terrorism: A Definitional Problem’, in Paul Wilkinson and Alasdair Stewart (eds), Contemporary Research on Terrorism (Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1989), p. 25. One prominent commentator, Walter Laqueur, takes this position.
Brian Jenkins, ‘The Study of Terrorism: Definitional Problems’, in Yonah Alexander and J. Gleason (eds), Behavioral and Quantitative Perspectives on Terrorism (Pergamon Press, 1981), p. 3.
John Murphy, ‘The Need for International Cooperation in Combating Terrorism’, Terrorism 13 (1990): 384.
Geoffrey Levitt, ‘Is Terrorism Worth Defining?’, Ohio Northern Law Review 97 (1986): 109.
See Yonah Alexander, ‘The European: Middle East Terrorist Connection’, International Journal of Criminal and Applied Criminal Justice 13(2) (1988/89): 1–6.
See Grant Wardlaw, Political Terrorism. Theory, Tactics and Counter-Measures (Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 3–8.
See David Long, The Anatomy of Terrorism (New York: The Free Press, 1990), p. 5.
See Paul Wilkinson, ‘Ethical Defences of Terrorism’, Terrorism and Political Violence 1 (1989): 14. See also generally Robert Taylor, ‘Liberation Theology, Politics and Violence in Latin America’, in Wilkinson and Stewart (eds), Contemporary Research on Terrorism, pp. 45–53.
See Martha Crenshaw, ‘The Concept of Revolutionary Terrorism’, Journal of Conflict Resolution 16 (3) (1972): 388.
Raymond Aron, Peace and War (London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1966), p. 170.
Paul Wilkinson, Terrorism and the Liberal State (London: Macmillan, 1986), p. 52.
See Paul Leventhal and Brahma Chellaney, ‘Nuclear Terrorism: Threat, Perception and Response in South Asia’, Terrorism: An International Journal 11 (1988): 455
Pinkerton’s Risk Assessment Services, Terrorism 1991–1993 (Pinkerton’s Inc., 1989–1994).
Ronald Crelinsten and Alex Schmid, ‘Western Responses to Terrorism: A Twenty-Five Year Balance Sheet’, Terrorism and Political Violence 4(4) (Winter 1992): 317.
For further details of the attacks see George Rosie, The Directory of International Terrorism (Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing, 1986), pp. 51 and 119.
See David Rapoport, ‘The Politics of Atrocity’, in Yonah Alexander and Seymour Finger (eds), Terrorism: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (New York: John Jay, 1977), pp. 45–61.
See Alex Schmid and Albert Jongman, Political Terrorism: A New Guide To Actors, Concepts, Data Bases, Theories and Literature (Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing Company, 1988), Chapter 1.
Quoted in R. Farnen, ‘Terrorism and the Mass Media’, Terrorism: An International Journal 13 (1990): 110.
Walter Laqueur, ‘The Futility of Terrorism’, in W. Kegley (ed.), International Terrorism. Characteristics, Causes, Controls (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1990), p. 72.
See also Wardlaw, Political Terrorism 9; Paul Wilkinson, ‘Terrorist Movements’, in Yonah Alexander, David Carlton and Paul Wilkinson (eds), Terrorism. Theory and Practice (Colorado: Westview Press, 1979), p. 99; Harry Vanden, ’State Policy and the Cult of Terror in Central America’, in Wilkinson and Stewart (eds), Contemporary Research on Terrorism, pp. 257–8;
Edward Mickolus, ‘International Terrorism’, in Michael Stohl (ed.), The Politics of Terrorism: A Reader in Theory and Practice (New York: Marcel Dekker, 1991), p. 222.
S. Andreski, ‘Terror’, in W. Kolb and J. Gould (eds), A Dictionary of the Social Sciences (Glencoe, Illinois: UNESCO and the Free Press, 1964), 179.
Martha Crenshaw, Terrorism and International Cooperation (New York: Institute for the East—West Security Studies, 1988), p. 9.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1996 Peter Chalk
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chalk, P. (1996). The Nature of Contemporary Terrorism: Problems of Definition. In: West European Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230374195_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230374195_2
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-39702-0
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-37419-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)