Educação pode mudar sua vida

The term “terrorism” is controversial and has many definitions, none of which are universally accepted. The Oxford English Dictionary defines terrorism as “a policy intended to strike with terror those against whom it is adopted; the employment of methods of intimidation; the fact of terrorizing or condition of being terrorized”. It is almost always used in a pejorative sense, to describe the violence of an enemy as being immoral or wanton. No known group describes itself as “terrorist”.

 

Theories on the causes of terrorism include:

• sociological explanations which focus on the position of the perpetrators in society

• conflict theory which includes their relationship to those in power

• ideological explanations which focus on the differences in ideology, and the different goals of the ideologies

• media theory explanations which treat terrorist acts as a form of communication 

Some anti-terrorist commentators refuse to consider the causes, since that implies justification. For them, the terrorists are simply evil people. Some theories of the ethics of terrorism also exist, and they too are concerned with moral judgment on terrorism and specific actions. They do not attempt to explain its origins. They often treat terrorism as a form of warfare, and refer to the just war theory, and to war crimes law.