Title: 
Headings: Various Definitions of Terrorism
Various
 
Definitions
 
of
 
Terrorism
 

Controversy
 
in
 
Defining
 
Terrorism
 

United
 
Nations
 

UN
 
Security
 
Council
 
Resolution
 
1566
 
(2004)
 
gives
 
a
 
definition:
 

European
 
Union
 

United
 
Kingdom
 

United
 
States
 

State
 
Terrorism
 


Content: Various Definitions of Terrorism
Various
 
Definitions
 
of
 
Terrorism
 
Controversy
 
in
 
Defining
 
Terrorism
 
The
 
difficulty
 
in
 
defining
 
“terrorism”
 
is
 
in
 
agreeing
 
on
 
a
 
basis
 
for
 
determining
 
when
 
the
 
use
 
of
 
violence
 
(directed
 
at
 
whom,
 
by
 
whom,
 
for
 
what
 
ends)
 
is
 
legitimate; therefore,
 
the
 
modern
 
definition
 
of
 
terrorism
 
is
 
inherently
 
controversial. The
 
use
 
of
 
violence
 
for
 
the
 
achievement
 
of
 
political
 
ends
 
is
 
common
 
to
 
state
 
and
 
non-state
 
groups. The
 
majority
 
of
 
definitions
 
in
 
use
 
has
 
been
 
written
 
by
 
agencies
 
directly
 
associated
 
with
 
government,
 
and
 
is
 
systematically
 
biased
 
to
 
exclude
 
governments
 
from
 
the
 
definition. The
 
contemporary
 
label
 
of
 
"terrorist"
 
is
 
highly
 
pejorative--
 
it
 
denotes
 
a
 
lack
 
of
 
legitimacy
 
and
 
morality. As
 
a
 
practical
 
matter,
 
so-called
 
acts
 
of
 
“terrorism”
 
or
 
terrorism
 
are
 
often
 
a
 
tactic
 
committed
 
by
 
the
 
actors
 
as
 
part
 
of
 
a
 
larger
 
military
 
or
 
geo-political
 
agenda. United
 
Nations
 
The
 
UN
 
General
 
Assembly
 
Resolution
 
49/60
 
(adopted
 
on
 
December
 
9,
 
1994),
 
titled
 
"Measures
 
to
 
Eliminate
 
International
 
Terrorism,"
 
contains
 
a
 
provision
 
describing
 
terrorism: Criminal
 
acts
 
intended
 
or
 
calculated
 
to
 
provoke
 
a
 
state
 
of
 
terror
 
in
 
the
 
general
 
public,
 
a
 
group
 
of
 
persons
 
or
 
particular
 
persons
 
for
 
political
 
purposes
 
are
 
in
 
any
 
circumstance
 
unjustifiable,
 
whatever
 
the
 
considerations
 
of
 
a
 
political,
 
philosophical,
 
ideological,
 
racial,
 
ethnic,
 
religious
 
or
 
any
 
other
 
nature
 
that
 
may
 
be
 
invoked
 
to
 
justify
 
them. The
 
UN
 
Member
 
States
 
still
 
have
 
no
 
agreed-upon
 
definition
 
of
 
terrorism,
 
and
 
this
 
fact
 
has
 
been
 
a
 
major
 
obstacle
 
to
 
meaningful
 
international
 
countermeasures. Terminology
 
consensus
 
would
 
be
 
necessary
 
for
 
a
 
single
 
comprehensive
 
convention
 
on
 
terrorism,
 
which
 
some
 
countries
 
favor
 
in
 
place
 
of
 
the
 
present
 
12
 
piecemeal
 
conventions
 
and
 
protocols.