Aggression, War and Peace

David C. Rapoport, 1999, "Terrorism," Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict, San Diego, CA: Academic Press 3:497-510. The phenomenon of terrorism may be quite ancient, but the concept is modern (p. 498). Examples of ancient terrorists include the Assassins in early Islam, the Zealots in 1st century Judaism, and the Thugs in 13th to 19th century Hinduism (501). During the French Revolution from 1789-1799 some groups used acts of terrorism, and even created a culture of terror, as a desperate means to establish a democratic order. However, only as late as the 1960s, did scholars begin to wrestle with the definition of terrorism (499). Yet the media, especially in the U.S.A., confuses the issue to avoid being seen as blatantly partisan by alternately applying different labels to the same account--- terrorists, rebels, guerrillas, and soldiers (499-500).
There is also the problem that through time some individuals, formerly recognized as terrorist leaders, have become something else, from George Washington of the American colonies to more recently Anwar Sadat of Egypt, Yasir Arafat of the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Front), Menachem Begin of Israel, and Nelson Mandela of South Africa.
Clearly terrorism is not reducible to simply senseless violence or evil. Often underlying the desperate acts of terrorism, apparently random and extraordinary violence against innocent civilians, is a desperate frustration with prolonged injustices wherein no alternative remedy appears available and effective. Terrorism is a form of violence that ignores conventional distinctions between guilt and innocence, and/or, combatants and noncombatants. The victims of terrorism are a means to confront a target--- government policy or public opinion (500).
Since the 1880s, there have been four major waves of terrorism on the international scene, each with its own particular characteristics, main purpose, and peculiar techniques. Each of the first three waves lasted for only about