Cj352 - Domestic Terrorism

CJ352, Domestic Terrorism

March 2012

Excelsior College

The relationship between terrorism and extremism is complicated, with that being said the lines are often blurred. Although all extremists are not considered terrorists, all terrorists should be considered extremists. For any one person to have extremist tendencies to resort to aggression, violence, and terrorism, would lead to a classification of terrorist. No non-extremist is likely to resort to terrorism. Despite at times not being a terrorist, an extremist is still a threat to the society because they can influence others to become extremists, some of who may also turn out to be terrorists. There is no way of understanding when a non-terrorist-extremist may decide to become a terrorist.

Most textbooks and authors take a broad approach when it comes to terrorism. The reason for this is that terrorism is an emotionally charged word that is frequently used to politically and socially denigrate one's opponents. There is no one, good definition of terrorism. In fact, the phenomenon might be impossible to define because it is intangible and fluctuates according to historical and geographical contexts. Some forms of it are indistinguishable from crime, revolution, war, and fear. Other forms of it are easily distinguishable. '"Terrorism" may well be the most important word in the political vocabulary these days,' however little has changed since it was first introduced, as was remarked by, Alex P. Schmid, Director of the Centre for Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St. Andrews (2004). Some authors claim, by the lack of a universally agreed definition of terrorism. 'An objective definition of terrorism is not only possible: it is also indispensable to any serious attempt to combat terrorism,' (Schmid, 2004).

Terrorism is usually categorized into two categories. They are as follows: state terrorism, or terrorism from above, in which governments lash out against their own people, and terrorism from below, in which groups or individuals try to disrupt the civil order to further their own agendas. Governments resort to terror to prevent other parties or popular movements from taking control, while groups or individuals use terrorism for various reasons, such as to fight against unpopular governments, to send a political message, or to further a criminal enterprise. Support and protection of one's religion has also been a strong motivation for terrorism throughout history.

While state terrorists have used the full force of a government's police and military against their enemies, individuals and groups have resorted to strategies such as kidnappings, hijackings and bombings. Terrorists have used these