Terrorism

Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war against non-combatants. There are several different definitions of terrorism, without universal agreement on the precise meaning of the term. Different definitions of terrorism emphasize its randomness, the aims are to generally instill fear and to seek a broader impact, beyond the immediate effect on the victims that suffered the attack.

Modern terrorism, evolving from earlier iterations, employs various tactics to pursue political goals, often leveraging fear as a strategic tool to influence decision makers. By targeting densely populated public areas such as transportation hubs, airports, shopping centers, tourist attractions, and nightlife venues, terrorists aim to instil widespread insecurity, prompting policy changes through psychological manipulation and undermining confidence in security measures.

The terms "terrorist" and "terrorism" originated during the French Revolution of the late 18th century, but became widely used internationally and gained worldwide attention in the 1970s during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Basque conflict and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The increased use of suicide attacks from the 1980s onwards was typified by the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001. The Global Terrorism Database, maintained by the University of Maryland, College Park, has recorded more than 61,000 incidents of non-state terrorism, resulting in at least 140,000 deaths between 2000 and 2014.

Various organizations and countries have used terrorism to achieve their objectives.