NCJ Number
79267
Journal
British Army Review Issue: 57 Dated: (December 1977) Pages: 66-72
Date Published
1977
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Considerations in defining terrorism and methods for countering national and transnational terrorism are discussed.
Abstract
There is a lack of consensus on the meaning of terrorism because (1) the terrorist's intended goal -- the creation of fear -- is itself still the subject of intensive research by psychologists; (2) there is disagreement about which acts are 'terroristic'; and (3) the interpretation of particular incidents or a pattern of incidents depends upon the political or ideological perspective of the interpreter. Within communities sharing a common system of stable political and social values, however, there is little confusion about the meaning of terrorism. Any violent and criminal act planned for a political or ideological purpose is considered 'terrorism'. Within this context, terrorists are viewed as nothing more than dangerous criminals. It is particularly difficult to counter national terrorism in Western democracies because of the priority given to freedom of thought, speech, and movement, along with guarantees of privacy. In such countries, the mass media in particular play into the hands of terrorists by giving high priority to coverage of their activities and ideas, far beyond the attention given to the same criminal activity without political overtones. Whatever the political context, the suppression of terrorism requires (1) a realistic understanding of terrorist groups and their activity on the part of law enforcement agencies, (2) a well-staffed and well-equipped police force, (3) an effective information and intelligence service backed by a modern system for data storage and analysis, and (4) popular support for government policy vis-a-vis terrorists. Transnational terrorism requires cooperation between countries in reaching a definition of terrorist acts and the development of cooperative arrangements for bringing those who commit such acts into a court of justice. Thirty-two references are provided.