Bloody Sunday  In the late 1960s, Irish Catholic activists calling themselves the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association attempted to emulate the African American civil rights movement as a strateg

Chapter 2

The Nature of the Beast

Defining Terrorism

Understanding Extremism

Defining Extremism

• • Intolerance in what someone believes.

  • Intolerance in how someone expresses their beliefs.

  • Violent expression is not a universal characteristic.

  • Understanding Extremism
    (continued)

Common Characteristics of Violent Extremists

• • Intolerance.

  • Moral absolutes.

  • Broad conclusions.

  • New language and conspiratorial beliefs.

• The World of the Extremist

  • Different, often fantastic, worldview compared to non-extremists.

  • Basic belief that unjust forces are arrayed against true believers.

  • Clear sense of mission, purpose, and righteousness.

Defining Terrorism an Ongoing Debate

• Guerrilla Warfare

  • Terrorism is not synonymous with guerilla warfare

  • Guerilla translates to “little war”

  • Guerilla warfare exists today

• A Sampling of Formal Definitions

  • The use of illegal force.

  • Subnational actors.

  • Unconventional methods.

  • Political motives.

  • Attacks on “soft” civilian and passive military targets.

  • Acts aimed at purposefully affecting an audience.

• The American Context: Defining Terrorism in the United States

  • No single definition has been adopted.

  • Definitions have been developed from time to time by government agencies.

  • For example, by the Department of Defense, the U.S. Code, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of State.

• The American Context: Defining Terrorism in the United States (continued)

  • Composite American definition: “Premeditated and unlawful act in which groups or agents of some principal engage in a threatened or actual use of force or violence against human or property targets. These groups or agents engage in this behavior intending the purposeful intimidation of governments or people to affect policy or behavior with an underlying political objective.”

• Types of Terrorism

  • A general consensus among experts about the types of terrorism.

  • State terrorism.

  • Dissident terrorism.

  • Religious terrorism.

  • Criminal terrorism.

  • International terrorism.

Perspectives on Terrorism

• Perspective 1: Four Quotations

  • “One Person’s Terrorist is Another Person’s Freedom Fighter”

  • “One Man Willing to Throw Away His Life is Enough to Terrorize a Thousand”

  • “Extremism in Defense of Liberty is No Vice”

  • “It Became Necessary to Destroy the Town to Save It”

• Perspective 2: Participants in a Terrorist Environment

  • The terrorist.

  • The supporter.

  • The victim.

  • The target.

  • The onlooker.

  • The analyst.

• Perspective 3: Terrorism or Freedom Fighting?

  • Debate: Whether the use of political violence is justifiable.

  • Governments and dissidents always cite noble aspirations to justify violence.

• Perspective 4: Extremism or “Mainstreamism”?

  • Debate: Whether political violence is always manifested from a political fringe.

  • Do some political environments make extremism justifiable within the mainstream?

The Political Violence Matrix

The Political Violence Matrix

• • Combatant and Noncombatant Targets

  • Indiscriminate and Discriminate Force

• Case in Point: The Orlando Mass Shooting

  • The Terrorism Hate Crime Nexus

  • Recall the opening viewpoint

  • Religion-inspired mass shooting directed against a demographic group.