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What is Terrorism Revision

Taylor White Professor Shirk POL 357 3 May 2018 What is Terrorism Revision At the beginning of the semester, I argued that since the 1960s the definition of terrorism was socially constructed by experts to help them study a particular phenomenon and that in turn, the working definition of terrorism is a political term rather than a natural one. Subsequently, I asserted that the continued politicization of the term by supposed experts would yield a moral dilemma in which each violent act would be labeled as evil, thereby, “produc(ing) a discourse that they are unable to control… in which terrorism is conceived as a problem of evil and pathology.” My original definition of terrorism was based entirely off of the thoughts of Stampnitzky, yet through our discussions throughout the semester, I have altered my definition. While I still agree with Stampnitzky in that it is concerning the way in which so-called experts have crafted the working definition of terrorism, I believ

Second Terrorism Essay

Cassandra Monteiro Terrorism Paper 2 What is Terrorism?             In my first terrorism essay I argued that terrorism is when a weak person or group of people who are involved in a struggle of power premeditate an attack against a more powerful nation-state with the aim of inflicting terror and fear among the group and people involved or within. I now do not believe in calling these groups weak as they clearly have enough power to inflict great fear among large amounts of people. I now consider terrorism as an attack on a powerful nation-state coming from an oppressed group of people with the aims of inflicting fear to cause change according to their political beliefs and ideals. As we have gone on to cover a large number of cases of terrorism in class I believe that this definition will fit the majority of cases. To prove this, I am going to consider the cases of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).             After watching th

Second Terrorism Essay

Drew Nelson Professor Shirk POL357: Global Politics of Terrorism 3 May 2018 Terrorism Essay             In my first essay, I agreed with Phillip Bobbitt’s definition of terrorism. He recognized that terrorism is violence used against a constitutional order. This definition implies that terrorism is only used by those attempting to take down a government or change a specific part of it whether it be a change in leadership or to change what the government stands for. I agreed with Bobbitt’s argument that those who commit terror can be state or non-state actors, meaning that terrorism can come from within the current regime. I still agree with Bobbitt’s definition of terrorism. Through readings and discussions, I have seen how terrorism can come from government-sanctioned actors and those who are not part of the state. His definition does not include who the victims are, but I would argue that they would be nonmilitary personnel. Examples of this definition include pirates, Ana