Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 8

Terrorism - Essay Example In an attempt to understand terrorism and integrate the protection against terrorism in the laws, different governments and agencies have come up with the definition of terrorism to help in designing intervention against the vise. This paper will analyze some of the definitions of terrorism and provide a critique to the definitions in an attempt to ensure the definitions are in conformity with the current socio-economic changes and the dynamics in technological advancements. Even before the 9/11 attack, there had been debates concerning extremism, however, following the 9/11 attack, the aftermath propelled the definition of terrorism into the forefront of the contemporary consciousness. Nevertheless, despite the public spotlight on the actions of terrorists, there has not been a concrete and a universally accepted definition of terrorism, thus the definition of terrorism varies from one state to another and between different law enforcement agencies. In the current world, national security is of paramount importance; hence, the political and the legal systems need to have a universal way of definition of terrorism to help in designing effective counter-terrorism strategies. Due to lack of a universally accepted way of defining terrorism, the international community cannot strengthen their cooperation in the fight against the vise since different definitions results to different priorities in the fight against terrorism (Sandler, 2011). Terrorism can be viewed from three parameters; the cause, the means of attack and the perpetrators. Focusing on a single parameter is not adequate to the definition of terrorism since terrorism is multidimensional, fluid and complex. The diversity in the three parameters used in the definition of terrorism makes it difficult to formulate a universally accepted definition. Some of the reasons why the application of the three parameters has