You terrorist acts and attacks, according to some scholars, began in the 1st century d. C., when a group of radical Jews, called hit men (Dagger Men), attacked Jewish and non-Jewish citizens who were considered in favor of Roman rule. Other evidence that confirms the remote origins of terrorism are records of the existence of a Muslim sect at the end of the 11th century d. a., that was dedicated to exterminate its enemies in the Middle East. From this sect the origin of the word murder would have arisen.
modern terrorism
Modern terrorism has its origins in the 19th century in the European context, when anarchist groups they saw the state as their main enemy. The main terrorist action in that period aimed at the armed struggle for the constitution of a society without State - for this, anarchists had as their main target some head of state, not their citizens.
During the second half of the 19th century, the terrorist actions had an ascension, however, in the 20th century, there was an expansion of the groups that opted for terrorism as a form of struggle. As a result of this expansion, the radius of terrorist action increased, with the emergence of new groups, such as the separatists
Basques in Spain, the Kurds in Turkey and Iraq, Muslims in cashmere and the right-wing racist paramilitary organizations in the US. One of the followers of this last organization was Timothy James McVeigh, terrorist who murdered 168 people in 1995, not known Oklahoma bombing.With the development of science and technology in the 20th century, terrorist actions began to have greater reach and power by through sophisticated global connections, use of highly destructive weapons technology, communication networks (internet) etc.
Terrorism in the 21st Century
At the beginning of the 21st century, especially after the terrorist attacks to the USA, in 2001, scholars classified terrorism in four ways:
- Revolutionary Terrorism: it emerged in the 20th century and its practitioners became known as Marxist urban guerrillas (Maoists, Castroists, Trotskyists and Leninists);
- nationalist terrorism: founded by groups wishing to form a new nation-state within an already existing state (territorial separation), as in the case of the group ETA separatist terrorist in Spain (the Basque people do not identify themselves as Spanish, but occupy Spanish territory and are subject to the government of the Spain);
- State Terrorism: it is practiced by national States and their acts integrate two actions. The first would be the terrorism practiced against its own population. Examples of this form of terrorism were: States totalitarian Fascists and Nazis, the Brazilian military dictatorship and the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. The second form was constituted as the fight against the foreign population (xenophobia);
- Terrorism by criminal organizations, which are acts of violence committed for economic and religious purposes, as in the cases of the Italian mafia, the Medellín Cartel, al-Qaeda, etc.
In the contemporary world, terrorist threats are recurrent news in the press. "For the greatest visualization of world terrorism, the media plays a key role. But it is evident that it also creates sensationalism around terrorists [...] the media helps to justify the legality and the need for action anti-terrorists who often carry out bloodbaths and human rights violations that affect the civilian population more than the terrorists” (SILVA; SILVA, 2005: 398-399).
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Discourse on Terror
It is important to reflect on the terror as a practice and the horror speech. The separation of these actions is fundamental for understanding the terrorist practice and for analyzing the discourses constructed about terrorism. Once this is done, it is possible to understand the political and ideological issues that lie behind the practices and discourses on terror. Therefore, we will be better able to question, fight and understand why so many people kill and die for certain causes.
It is more than necessary for society to understand the ideologies that drive terrorist practices and the discourses built on these practices. With each passing year, humanity feels more cornered and fearful, fearful of attacks with weapons of mass destruction.
Leandro Carvalho
Master in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
OAK, Leandro. "Terrorism"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historia/terrorismo.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
