terrorism

terrorism. The literature on terrorism is dogged by the apparently insoluble problem of definition. Some commentators evade definitional problems by assuming an ideological consensus among their readers, others simply define terrorism as anti‐state activity. Other approaches attempt to include state activities in the definition, by defining terrorism as involving the attempt to coerce target populations through the use of actions designed to induce extreme fear. Such general definitions, while focusing upon acts carried out against unarmed and innocent civilians, tend to blur the distinction between war and terror, since modern warfare involves the mobilization and the targeting of the civilian population.

The use of the term in the context of Irish history reflects these ambiguities. During the Anglo‐Irish War the intimidation and murder of civilians was practised by both the IRA and the crown forces. As in all modern wars, the majority of those killed in the Northern Ireland conflict since 1969 have been uninvolved civilians, and loyalist paramilitary groups have followed a consistent policy of killing uninvolved Catholics.

The current official definition of terrorism in Northern Ireland comes from the Diplock Report of 1972. Diplock defines violence as the ‘use or threat of violence to achieve political ends’, a definition which, on the surface, could include certain state activities. Diplock, however, restricts his definition to ‘those crimes which are committed at the present time by members of terrorist organisations’. This somewhat tautological approach characterizes conventional attempts to separate the usage of the term from any consideration of historical, social, or economic circumstances and fails to deal with the phenomenon as something created by human collectivities in the context of human history.

J. P. Smyth