Human rights / Working Paper
Defining "Terrorism" to Protect Human Rights
07/02/2006 By Ben Saul
Few words are plagued by so much indeterminacy, subjectivity and political disagreement as ‘terrorism’.
The ordinary linguistic meaning of ‘terrorism’ is instantly evocative and emotive, referring to extreme fear, or intense fright or dread. By itself, a literal meaning is not particularly helpful in defining terrorism as a legal term, since many forms of violence, from mugging to warfare, can cause terror.
The deceptively simple, literal meaning of terrorism is overlaid with centuries of political connotations, referring at different times to State and non-State conduct.
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Keywords
Peace Terrorism UNBio author: Ben Saul
BA (Hons) LLB (Hons) (Syd) DPhil (Oxon), Ben Saul taught international law at Oxford University, lectured at the Refugee Studies Centre, and trained foreign diplomats in international law. His research interests include public international law, particularly terrorism, international criminal law, humanitarian law, use of force, human rights, refugee law, United Nations law, electoral law; and criminal law.
