How can we distinguish terrorism from other acts of political violence?
1 Answer
Nov 9, 2017
The purpose. Terrorism, by definition, is designed to inspire terror, and is employed against civilians.
Explanation:
Terrorism consists of actions performed publicly, against civilians, without a specific individual target (i.e. indiscriminately),with the purpose of causing pain and terror, in the hopes of furthering the perpetrators'ideological goals.
By contrast, an assault upon an enemy military group, even if it causes terror, is considered a form of warfare. Targeting a specific enemy individual, even if the indicidual is a civilian, is more accurately an act of assassination.