• Definitions of terrorism differ around the

world.

• Policymakers consider differences depending

on whether terrorist threats originate inside
the country (domestic terrorism) or outside of
the country (international terrorism).

• Usually key to all of these definitions is the

political or ideological motivation behind
violence attacks.
“One person’s freedom fighter
is another person’s terrorist.”
• How do you distinguish a terrorist group from
a non-terrorist group?
• What kinds of terrorism have existed and
continue to exist in the world? What are some
of the underlying causes of terrorism?
• How prevalent is terrorism—has it been
increasing or has it been on the decline?
• Terrorism: The very word creates terror in our
minds today.

• What is terrorism?
• What causes terrorism?
• Who are the actual terrorists?
• Can we eradicate scourge of terrorism?
• These are some questions that flash across the
minds of peace loving members of civil society.
• Terrorism as an adjective:

“An act intended to cause death or serious bodily

harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose
of intimidating a population or compelling a
government or an international organization to do or
abstain from doing any act.” –UN Panel on Terrorism

• Terrorist as a noun: A group that engages in acts of

terrorism.
• In Contemporary Terrorism edited by John D Eliott and
Leslie K Gibson, Bureau of Operations and research,
International Association of chiefs of Police six major
purposes of terrorism are:

Terrorism may be aimed at wringing specific concession,

such as ransom.

May be aimed at gaining publicity. They are carefully

choreographed to attract attention to their cause and
project to attract electronic media and international press.

May be aimed at causing widespread disorder,

demoralizing society and breaking some social order.
May be aimed at deliberately provoking repression,
reprisals and counter terrorism.

Terrorism may also be used to enforce obedience

and cooperation. This is the usual purpose of state
or official terrorism, or what is frequently called
institutional violence.

Terrorism is frequently meant to punish. Terrorists

often declare that the victim of their attack is
somehow guilty or symbol of something the
terrorists consider guilty.
• FBI Definition

• Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or

violence against persons or property to
intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian
population, or any segment thereof, in
furtherance of political or social objectives.

• Brian Jenkins
• Terrorism is the use or threatened use of force
designed to bring about political change.
 Encyclopedia Britannica
• “The systematic use of terror (such as
bombings, killings, and kidnappings) as a
means of forcing some political objective.
When used by a government, it may signal
efforts to stifle dissent; used by
insurrectionists or guerrillas, it many be part
of an overall effort to effect desired political
change.”
 Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary

“Systematic use of violence, terror, and intimidation to achieve an end.”

Terrorism is the unlawful use or threat of violence against persons or property to further
political or social objectives. It is usually intended to intimidate or coerce a government,
individuals or groups, or to modify their behavior or politics.

US State Department- The term "terrorism" means premeditated, politically motivated

violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine
agents, usually intended to influence an audience.
• Walter Laqueur- Terrorism constitutes the
illegitimate use of force to achieve a political
objective when innocent people are targeted.

• The calculated use of violence or threat of

violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or
to intimidate governments or societies in pursuit
of goals that are generally political, religious or
ideological.
• "Bruce Hoffman in his work Inside Terrorism (1998)
states that the terrorist is fundamentally a violent
intellectual, prepared to use and indeed committed
to using force in the attainment of his goals.
• Terrorism is an old strategy which is adopted
by the weak for realization of their objectives.
In its effect, terrorism posed a serious threat
to humanity in the past and continues to do
the same even today.
 Attract Show the Cause a
Demonstr existing Obtain
attention Extract governme
ate groups government’ logistical
for groups s lack of revenge nt to
power support
cause power overreact
Modern History of Terrorism
• http://
www2.hci.edu.sg/y08hci0118/DtoD/terrorism
_history/index.html
 History
• A study of human history reveals that the
phenomenon of terrorism has existed worldwide
through out in the past also.

• The ancient Greek historian Xenophon (430-349 BC)

wrote of psychological warfare against enemy
population.
• The use of terror was advocated by Robespierre as
means of encouraging revolutionary virtue during
the French Revolution, leading to the period of his
political dominance called the Reign of Terror
(1793-94).
• After the US Civil War (1861-65), a terrorist
organisation Ku Klux Klan was formed in the name
of reconstruction.
• The murder of French Foreign Minister Barthou in
Marseilles in 1934 and Austrian Prime Minister
Dolfuss by Nazis in the same year prompted the
League of Nations to take the matter under
consideration.

• The result was two draft conventions dating from

November 1937 on the Prevention and punishment
of terrorism and the second one for creation of an
International Criminal.
 1995
1979 1988, Murrah 1997
Pan Am Building 1996, Truck Shopping mall
Diplomats bombed,
#103 bomb, bombed,
held hostage, Oklahoma
bombed, Manchester Jerusalem
Tehran, Iran City
Lockerbie England Isreal
Scotland Oklahoma

1972 1984 1992 1998

Israeli
Golden 1995 Nerve U. S. 2001 Four
athletes Two car
Temple gas released, Embassies airplanes hijacked
taken bombs
seized, Aum bomed, and crashed,
hostage, explode,
Amritsar Shinrikyo Washington, DC
Munich Lima, Peru Kenya and
India & New York City
Germany Tanzania
 eptember 11, 2001 was the deadliest terrorist attack in history. Osama Bin Laden’s terrorist
organization Al Qaeda hijacked 4 commercial jets. Two of the planes were flown into the
World Trade Center, another into the Pentagon, and the last plane crashed in rural
Pennsylvania. Thousands of lives were lost. Innocent citizens of over 80 different nations were
attacked and killed without warning, shocking the civilized world.

New York City

USA
September 11, 2001 was the deadliest terrorist attack in history. Osama Bin Laden’s
terrorist organization Al Qaeda hijacked 4 commercial jets. Two of the planes were
flown into the World Trade Center, another into the Pentagon, and the last plane
crashed in rural Pennsylvania. Thousands of lives were lost. Innocent citizens of over
80 different nations were attacked and killed without warning, shocking the civilized
world.
 Terrorism after 9/11
• Terrorism is on the rise, with an almost fivefold increase in
fatalities since 9/11, in spite of US-led efforts to combat it in
the Middle East and elsewhere around the world, according to
a report published in 2014.

• The Global Terrorism Index recorded almost 18,000 deaths last

year, a jump of about 60% over the previous year. Four groups
were responsible for most of them: Islamic State (Isis) in Iraq
and Syria; Boko Haram in Nigeria; the Taliban in Afghanistan;
and al-Qaida in various parts of the world.

• (http://
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/18/fivefold-increase-terrorism-fatalities-global-index)
• Attention to terrorism has increased sharply in
recent years, it is by no means a new
phenomenon. For decades terrorists have
carried out attacks against non-combatant
targets causing massive destruction by means
of vicious assaults.
• While the objectives and modus operandi
have changed, there is no reason to believe
that terrorism will completely cease to exist in
the near future.

• In fact, because terrorism is a tactic used by a

wide variety of organizations it can be argued
that terrorism cannot be defeated at all
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/07/60-terrorist-plots-since-911-continued-lessons-in-domestic-counterterrorism
Domestic Terrorism
Terrorism perpetrated by the citizens of a
country against their fellow citizens
• Includes acts against citizens of a second
country when they are in the host country, and
not the principal or intended target
 International terrorism
Terrorism in which planning and execution of
the terrorist act transcends national
boundaries
 POTENTIAL TARGETS


Government facilities

Public assembly buildings

Mass transit systems

Telecommunications

Symbolic Sites
 Methods of Terrorism
• Firearms
• Explosive and Incendiary Devices
• Chemical Agents
• Biological Agents
• Nuclear Weapon
 BIOLOGICAL
AGENTS
Pose a serious threat due to their accessibility,
potential for rapid spread, and ability to cause
multiple casualties.

Routes of Entry
Inhalation
Absorption
Ingestion
Injection
 BACTERIA & RICKETTSIA


Bacteria: single-celled organisms

Multiply by cell division

Rickettsia: smaller than bacteria

Live inside individual host cells to cause disease


Bacteria examples:

Anthrax (bacillus anthracis)

Cholera (Vibrio cholerae)

Plague (Yersinia pestis)

Rickettsia example:

Q-fever (coxiella burnetii )
NUCLEAR RADIATION TYPES

Alpha
Beta
Gamma
 EXPLOSIVES

Any substance, article or device designed to

function by an extremely rapid release of gas
and heat.

For our purposes, if it goes “boom”, it’s a bomb.

The only thing we
have to fear is fear
itself.
 Useful websites
• https://
education.cfr.org/learn/video/what-terrorism
• https://
www.unodc.org/documents/e4j/18-04932_CT_
Mod_01_ebook_FINALpdf.pdf

• https://ourworldindata.org/terrorism

• https://
www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/fbi-