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'''State terrorism''' is a controversial term, used when arguing that [[terrorism]] can be carried out by governments. The concept of ''state terrorism'' and indeed of ''terrorism'' has its roots in the [[Reign of Terror]] in revolutionary [[France]], and the Oxford English Dictionary still has a definition of terrorism as "Government by intimidation carried out by the party in power in France between 1789-1794".<ref name="teichman">{{cite journal|title=How to define terrorism|author=Jenny Teichman|journal=Philosophy|volume=64|issue=250|month=October|year=1989|page=505-517}}</ref> Historian [[Walter Laqueur]] has argued that [[Hitler]] and [[Stalin]] both practiced state terrorism.<ref name="teichman"/> |
'''State terrorism''' is a controversial term, used when arguing that [[terrorism]] can be carried out by governments. The concept of ''state terrorism'' and indeed of ''terrorism'' has its roots in the [[Reign of Terror]] in revolutionary [[France]], and the Oxford English Dictionary still has a definition of terrorism as "Government by intimidation carried out by the party in power in France between 1789-1794".<ref name="teichman">{{cite journal|title=How to define terrorism|author=Jenny Teichman|journal=Philosophy|volume=64|issue=250|month=October|year=1989|page=505-517}}</ref> Historian [[Walter Laqueur]] has argued that [[Hitler]] and [[Stalin]] both practiced state terrorism.<ref name="teichman"/> |
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Critics of [[United States]] [[Foreign relations of the United States|foreign policy]] such as [[Noam Chomsky]]<ref>Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance, Noam Chomsky, Holt Paperbacks (August 12, 2004), ISBN-10: 0805076883, pg 35, et al.</ref> and [[Alexander L. George]]<ref>Western State Terrorism, Alexander L. George, Blackwell Publishers (May 30, 1991), ISBN-10: 0745609317</ref> have used the term for many years in describing trends of political strategy. The President of the United States, [[George W. Bush]], has used the term only recently in rallying support for his administration's criticisms of [[Iran]]. On [[January 14]] [[2008]] during his visit to the [[United Arab Emirates]] the President identified Iran as "the world's leading sponsor of state terror". <ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2240252,00.html Bush urges Arab allies to confront Iran, 'the world's leading sponsor of state terror'] ''Guardian Unlimited'', January 14, 2008, Retrieved [[January 14]] [[2008]]</ref> |
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{{Terrorism}} |
{{Terrorism}} |
Revision as of 01:22, 4 March 2008
State terrorism is a controversial term, used when arguing that terrorism can be carried out by governments. The concept of state terrorism and indeed of terrorism has its roots in the Reign of Terror in revolutionary France, and the Oxford English Dictionary still has a definition of terrorism as "Government by intimidation carried out by the party in power in France between 1789-1794".[1] Historian Walter Laqueur has argued that Hitler and Stalin both practiced state terrorism.[1]
Critics of United States foreign policy such as Noam Chomsky[2] and Alexander L. George[3] have used the term for many years in describing trends of political strategy. The President of the United States, George W. Bush, has used the term only recently in rallying support for his administration's criticisms of Iran. On January 14 2008 during his visit to the United Arab Emirates the President identified Iran as "the world's leading sponsor of state terror". [4]
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Scope and definition
Like the definition of terrorism and the definition of state-sponsored terrorism, the definition of state terrorism remains controversial. There is no international consensus on what terrorism, state-sponsored terrorism, or state terrorism is. Nations also disagree on what distinguishes a "terrorist organisation" from a "liberation movement". There is no international agreement or treaty defining these terms.[5]
The earliest use of the word "terrorism" identified by the Oxford English Dictionary is a 1795 reference to what the author described as the "reign of terrorism" in France.[6] During that part of the French revolutionary period that is now known as the Reign of Terror, or simply The Terror, the Jacobins and other factions used the apparatus of the state to execute and cow political opponents.
According to the Britannica Concise terrorism is "systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective".[2] According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, State terrorism, also known as Establishment Terrorism, is "employed by governments—or more often by factions within governments—against that government's citizens, against factions within the government, or against foreign governments or groups. This type of terrorism is very common but difficult to identify, mainly because the state's support is always clandestine."[3]
Linguist and political analyst Noam Chomsky has stated that, "The U.S. is officially committed to what is called 'low-intensity warfare'.... If you read the definition of low-intensity conflict in army manuals and compare it with official definitions of 'terrorism' in army manuals, or the U.S. Code, you find they're almost the same."[7] Chomsky and Edward S. Herman have argued that the distinction between state and non-state terror is morally relativist, and distracts from or justifies state terrorism perpetrated by favored states, typically those of wealthy and developed nations (Chomsky and Herman, 1979). Chomsky has in turn been criticized for allegedly ignoring or justifying terrorism by states such as Communist China, Vietnam, and Cambodia.[4] Herman responded to such accusations in Z Magazine.[8]
There are several related terms: Democide, Genocide, State-sponsored terrorism, Crime against humanity, Crime against peace, and War crime.
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See also
- Al-Anfal Campaign
- Allegations of state terrorism by Iran
- Allegations of state terrorism by Russia
- Allegations of state terrorism in Sri Lanka
- Allegations of state terrorism by the United States
- Armenian Genocide
- Color of law
- Consequences of German Nazism
- Crime against humanity
- False flag
- Gukurahundi
- Holocaust
- Human rights in the Soviet Union
- Khmer Rouge
- North Korean human experimentation
- Population transfer in the Soviet Union
- Selective assassination
- Terror bombing
- War crime
- Red Terror (India)
Notes
- ^ a b Jenny Teichman (1989). "How to define terrorism". Philosophy. 64 (250): 505-517.
{{cite journal}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance, Noam Chomsky, Holt Paperbacks (August 12, 2004), ISBN-10: 0805076883, pg 35, et al.
- ^ Western State Terrorism, Alexander L. George, Blackwell Publishers (May 30, 1991), ISBN-10: 0745609317
- ^ Bush urges Arab allies to confront Iran, 'the world's leading sponsor of state terror' Guardian Unlimited, January 14, 2008, Retrieved January 14 2008
- ^ [1]
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary 2nd Edition, CD Version 3, 2002, Oxford University Press
- ^ Barsamian, David (2001). "The United States is a Leading Terrorist State An Interview with Noam Chomsky". Monthly Review.
{{cite journal}}
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and|coauthors=
(help) - ^ "Pol Pot And Kissinger: On war criminality and impunity", by Edward S. Herman, Z Magazine, September 1997
References
- Sluka, Jeffrey A. (Ed.) (2000). Death Squad: The Anthropology of State Terror. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-1711-X.
- Chomsky, Noam and Herman, Edward S. (1979). The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism: The Political Economy of Human Rights: Vol. 1. Boston: South End Press. ISBN 0-89608-090-0
- Alexander George (1991). Western State Terrorism. Polity Press. ISBN 0-7456-0931-7.
- Mark Curtis (2004). Unpeople: Britain's Secret Human Rights Abuses. Vintage. ISBN 0-09-946972-3.
Further reading
- Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth & K. Lee Lerner, eds. Terrorism : essential primary sources. Thomson Gale, 2006. ISBN 9781414406213 Library of Congress. Jefferson or Adams Bldg General or Area Studies Reading Rms LC Control Number: 2005024002.
- Tarpley, Webster G. 9/11 Synthetic Terror, Made in USA -Progressive Press. ISBN 0-93085-231-1
- Chomsky, Noam. The Culture of Terrorism ISBN 0-89608-334-9
- Chomsky, Noam. 9/11 ISBN 1-58322-489-0
- George, Alexander. Western State Terrorism, Polity Press. ISBN 0-7456-0931-7
External links
Prevention of terrorism