The Nature of Contemporary Terrorism: Problems of Definition

Abstract

‘One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.’ Although this is a much overused and, to many, trite cliche, it does, nevertheless, capture a central problem in the study of terrorism: the failure to establish a universally accepted definition of the concept under study. Indeed, certain commentators believe there to be no definition of terrorism at all — merely a Babylonic confusion of meanings.1 However, if effective counter measures are to be framed against the threat of terrorism, one requires, at the very least, an identification of the problem at hand in a form which allows it to be addressed in an acceptable fashion. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a satisfactory definition of terrorism, conceptualizing the concept in a manner that will yield more than a superficial congruence of opinion.