Тerrorism - реферат

Terrorism is seen as one of the most acute problems in the modern world. Unfortunately, many countries and places are prone to it. It seems to be an age-old phenomenon, as people appealed to arms from ancient years. In the struggle for power they committed lots of criminal actions. However, in the 21st century terrorism seems to have undergone so many tangible changes that it literally became a threat to the existence of the whole human civilization.

The problem of terrorism is examined from every angle nowadays, involving such disciplines as sociology, philosophy, history, political science, psychology, etc. Scientists are trying to get a better understanding of this world-threatening sociopolitical phenomenon and of its essence. Perhaps, that’s the main reason why they still haven’t accepted one precise term for this notion.

We often hear such words as separatism, extremism, terrorism, mixing them all up. However, each of these terms is much broader than it sounds and they do have certain differences. Terrorism can be regarded as any act of aggressiveness undertaken to cause terror, whereas extremism and separatism are specific forms of social phenomena. Extremism, for example, is directly against the existing political structures and institutions. Separatism, in its turn, involves cultural, ethnic or religious advocacy. However, any of the above mentioned phenomena use terrorism for the realization of their final objectives.

As a form of criminal offense terrorism has a number of specific features. One of them is violence in offenses, which can be both physical and psychological. The last one can be even more dangerous, as it’s associated with anonymous threats or demonstrative actions demanding to take certain decisions. Another feature is intimidation. The final purpose of the terroristic attack is not so much in the commission of crime itself (explosion, murder) as deterrence. The third feature is broad publicity. Usually, terroristic acts are the promotion of certain ideas, that’s why they seek for mass perception.

Very often terrorism is connected with people who have nothing to do with religious, economic or political activity. Unfortunately lots of innocent people are being involved and suffer. Thus, generalizing the definition of terrorism based on its specific features we may say that it’s a system of public terrifying violence characterized by increased danger for the society.