POLSCI 329S Lecture 11: VIOLENCE 10.04 (L) Terrorism
17 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Politics of Violence
10.04.16 Lecture Notes
How should we define terrorism?
Actor-based and action-based definitions
Action-based = targeting civilians
Actor-based = groups who don’t own territory, power asymmetry, uses terrorism for a political
goal
o Type of violence produced by insurgents without territorial base
o Guerillas – not terrorists – control territory and only use terrorist tactics when they
operate in areas out of their controlled territory
Let’s try to make a definition for terrorism
o Instill fear (indiscriminate and public) by targeting civilians and combatants
▪ Element of surprise
o Undermine authority
o Political goal
o Non-state actors → asymmetry of power
GTD: what counts as a terrorist attack
o Intentional
o Violent
o Subnational perpetrators
o +2 of the following:
▪ Political, economic, religious, or social goal
▪ Intention to convey a message to a broader audience
▪ Occurrence outside the context of legitimate way (subjective)
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