Defining Terrorism

A Useful Term?

In the wake of mass detonation of Hezbollah members’ pagers and other communication devices, which were almost certainly rigged with explosives by Israel, it has been frequent to describe these events as acts of ‘terrorism.’ Conversely, journalist Matthew Petti suggests to me that in general, the term terrorism is not a meaningful word. Petti’s point is not a defence of Israel’s actions in this case, but rather alludes to how the term tends to be used polemically by various actors simply to label opponents they particularly dislike.

Despite the fact that precise definition of terrorism is frequently lacking, I would contend that the term can be used in clear parameters and has some use in distinguishing different kinds of tactics of violence. To illustrate via a real-world example, consider the case of the Islamic State, which is internationally designated as a terrorist organisation and is one of those groups whose terrorist designation is hardly a matter of dispute or complaint. Few would be sorry to see the complete end of this group’s existence all together, though unfortunately, it is likely to persist indefinitely as a phenomenon in the Muslim world, just as the ‘Ku Klux Klan’ brand and white supremacist ideologies are likely to persist indefinitely among fringe sections of American society.