Terrorism

Abstract

Both the RAF and the PIRA claim to be fighting for a just cause and liberation, and against exploitation and colonialism. They also reject the label ‘terrorist’, insisting that they be called ‘urban guerrillas’. However, this work chooses to label both groups terrorist on the grounds that they fail to exhibit the fundamental characteristics of true guerrilla groups. The reason why these groups prefer the label guerrilla is because of the pejorative connotations of the label terrorist. But terrorism has not always been such a pejorative term. Some of the nineteenth century anarchist groups willingly labelled themselves terrorist. According to Rapoport, the last group to call itself terrorist was the Stern Gang which operated in Palestine in the late 1940s,1 and it is from about this time that pejorative connotations enter the definitional debate. The reasons for this lie in the developing global political and ideological divisions, and the growth of ‘national liberation’ movements, which professed to liberate peoples from colonial rule or oppressive political systems. Moves in the United Nations and adjustments to international legislation attempted to raise the status of such national liberation movements, and therein lies much of the reason why groups such as the RAF and the PIRA confer upon themselves the label urban guerrillas.KeywordsTerrorist GroupSecurity ForceGeneva ConventionNational LiberationGuerrilla WarfareThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.