In what ways can terrorism be distinguished from other forms of Essay

In what ways can terrorism be distinguished from other forms of violent conflict Can terrorism ever be justified - Essay Example Political Scientist seem unable to agree on a single or uniform meaning of the term terrorism, although they agree in principle that terrorism is a means to a political or social end.(Beinin, 12, 23) Perhaps the most dramatic definition of terrorism is provided by Netanyahu who describes terrorism as: Alex Schmid and Albert Jongman examined a complex range of definitions of terrorism and isolated five common denominators. (Schmid and Jongman, 5) A common element that accounted for at least a 83.5 per cent consistency was the use of force or violence. (Schmid and Jongman, 5) At least 65 per cent of the definitions agreed that acts of terrorism were political in nature. (Schmid and Jongman,5) Another 52 per cent of the definitions agreed that acts of terrorism involved the use of fear or terror, 47 per cent agreed that threats were used in terrorism plots and 41 per cent agreed that terrorists aimed to product psychological impact. (Schmid and Jongamn, 5) Other forms of violent conflict are generally attributed to war, guerrilla activity, insurgency and crime in general. Crime itself is categorised under two distinct heads. It can either be committed on an individual basis or it can be a joint enterprise as often is the case in instances of organized crime. (Cunningham and others, 7) Crime involves the intentional breaking of the law and violent crime involves some sort or assault either with or without a weapon. Like terrorism, â€Å"violent crimes involve force or threat of force.† (FBI) In a very real sense, violent crime is similar to terrorism since it involves a degree of force. The similarities between war and terrorism are obvious. Both forms of violent conflict have political or social aims and both involve the use of violence. Guerrilla warfare and activities are generally perpetuated during a formal or informal war either between