Learning Cycle 6 - Counterterrorism and Human Rights: K What is non-state terrorism? · No agreed definition · 'one person's "terrorist" is another person's "freedom fighter" · Historical · Jacobin terror, 1793 · Some distinctions · War or crime? · Macabre theatre of criminally lethal protest/asymmetric armed conflict? · Instrumental or symbolic? · Contrast IRA & jihadi terrorism. · Normative or descriptive? · Does deliberate targeting of non-combatants as matter of strategy itself render terrorism illegitimate in all/most/some circumstances? - No universally agreed definition amongst scholars, politicians or lawyers about what non - state terrorism is - As a matter of history, the term 'terror' or 'terrorism' entered the political lexicon as a descriptor for a state policy; this is the policy introduced by the radical Jacobin government in France, as a way of disciplining and intimidating the population in order to discourage and counter revolution and conspiracy with France's enemies - The state can be a terrorist (not on syllabus) - Terrorism can be both or either an act of war or a crime; all depends upon the context - Can be both or either instrumental or symbolic; the IRA was fundamentally an instrumental type of terrorist movement in so far as every bullet fired was intended to hasten the British department from Ireland and to secure the establishment of a 32 county Irish state; instrumental means that the terrorism is designed to secure concrete real world political goals; Jihadi terrorism is arguably both instrumental and symbolic; it is about the dramatization of a grievance; a contrast between two visions of the world; it is in effect an armed denunciation and an armed condemnation of certain Western decadent lifestyles - Also, an issue of whether the term 'non - state terrorism' is normative or descriptive; this is to say whether it is simply an idea or term that describes a distinctive kind of observable violence
K Key characteristics of non-state terrorism · Engagement in violent conflict with states: · by militarily and politically weak, but ideologically committed, non-state organisations and individuals; · typically involving attacks on state officials, on public and private institutions, and on civilian targets; · in order to create a climate of fear and insecurity; · intended to undermine the credibility of the state in defending itself and civil society; · to provoke counter-productive over-reaction by state/aggravate social division; . and, in the ensuing crisis, to exploit whatever opportunities might arise for the advancement of other terrorist goals, eg destabilization, propaganda, recruitment etc. · 'Terrorism' is, therefore, inherently incompatible with human rights W Risks and harms: death and personal injury W.Europe World Deaths in 2015 from. US · Terrorism 44 175 38,422 · War 28 5 97,496 · Homicide 15,696 3,962 437,000 · Road traffic accidents 35,398 19,219 1.25m · All accidents 136,053 126,482 5m . All deaths 2.6m 3.9m 56.4m (Pinker, 2018, 192) Globally · Death from homicide 11 times more likely than from terrorism 30 times more likely than from terrorism 125 times more