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W hat is T errorism ? R edefining a P henomenon in T ime of W ar
Author(s) -
GrobFitzgibbon Benjamin
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
peace and change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1468-0130
pISSN - 0149-0508
DOI - 10.1111/j.0149-0508.2005.00318.x
Subject(s) - terrorism , phenomenon , reactionary , political science , government (linguistics) , spanish civil war , nothing , law , political economy , sociology , politics , epistemology , philosophy , linguistics
Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the government of the United States, along with many of its allies, declared war on terrorism. What exactly is meant by terrorism, however, has not been made clear. This article contends that without such a definition, the term will lose all its utility and any war against an undefined terrorism will ultimately become unmanageable and unsuccessful. The article, therefore, seeks a new definition of terrorism, looking at the phenomenon not as a single experience but instead dividing it into four separate categories: national terrorism, revolutionary terrorism, reactionary terrorism, and religious terrorism. The article then concludes that unless a clear definition of terrorism is given and agreed upon, the present war on terrorism will become nothing more than a vague abstraction.