Terrorism as a legal concept

Abstract

There is a long and contested history of moral and political disapproval of ‘terrorism’. It is only fairly recently, however, that concepts of terrorism have taken legal form. Most national laws avoided reference to ‘terrorism’ before 2001. Instead most states responded to political violence by utilizing ordinary criminal laws and security offences, and occasionally emergency laws, supplemented by the domestic implementation of numerous transnational treaty offences (such as hijacking or hostage taking). Special ‘terrorism’ laws were most common in states confronting national liberation or separatist violence between the 1940s and 1980s, those that experienced extreme left-wing or other political violence in the 1970s and 80s; and occasionally in states affected by religious violence in the 1990s. It was only after 9/11 that most states considered enacting ‘terrorism’ into domestic law, but to this day national laws remain highly variable, reflecting fundamental moral disagreements over when it is legitimate to use political violence.