The evolution of terrorism

Abstract

Academics, government agencies, and the public have never fully agreed what constitutes terrorism. Terrorist groups often achieve short- or medium-term success of the sort that can produce notoriety. There are few instances of terrorism before the eighteenth century. In fact, nearly all pre-modern political violence that bears some similarity to modern terrorism does so in terms of the tactics used, such as assassination and conspiratorial organization, but little in the use of symbolic targets chosen for their ability to sway various audiences. Meanwhile, terrorism was also adopted by anarchists around the world, but particularly in France, Spain, Russia, and the United States. Another important element in the evolution of anti-colonial and ethno-nationalist terrorism in the mid-twentieth century was strategic fluidity. Terrorism was used to particularly striking effect in the Algerian War of Independence. The National Liberation Front began its war of independence against France in 1954 with a semi-conventional military campaign in the Algerian hinterland.