Meaningful Acts: Terrorists, Artists, and States

Abstract

Terrorism is not a novelty. As Chomsky points out, the term came into use at the end of the eighteenth century, and referred to violent acts of governments with the intent to ensure popular submission. One need only remember the reign of terror, whose social cement was force and cruelty, in which the Illu‐minist ideals of the French Revolution seemed to have been defeated. In con‐temporary Western societies, terrorism has come to be associated mainly with what Chomsky calls “retail terrorism,” by individuals or groups (as opposed to the “wholesale terrorism” of governments).1 What are the different forms of conceiving the term, in the last quarter of a century? The following dictionary entries on terror/terrorism, as well as the most recurrent definitions provided by terrorism scholars and state institutions, are worthy of highlighting: Terrorism: System of governing through terror, or by means of violent revolutions.2Terrorism: 1. Means of coercing, threatening, or influencing other people, or of imposing a will upon them through the systematic deployment of terror; 2. form of political action that combats the established power by violent means.3Terrorism: 1. The act of terrorizing; use of force or threat to demoralize, intimidate, and subjugate, esp. such use as a political weapon or policy; 2. the demoralization and intimidation produced in this way. Syn. Disorder; lawlessness; murder; nihilism.4The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. (FBI)5Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetuated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience. (U.S. Department of State)6Terrorism is a symbolic act designed to influence political behavior by extranormal means, entailing the use or threat of violence.7Terrorism, in the most widely accepted contemporary usage of the term, is fundamentally and inherently political. It is also ineluctably about power: the pursuit of power, the acquisition of power, and the use of power to achieve political change.8