Some academics have provided definitions that span dense paragraphs referencing over a dozen traits, while others offer a minimalist definition of only a few words. Academics have struggled to define terrorism for decades, reaching no significant consensus. Yet this is easier said than done, especially with regard to the former.
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The particular ways in which counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency are different, and also how they are related, become evident in a discussion of the phenomena of terrorism and insurgency themselves, and then what it means for a state to ‘counter’ them.Īny discussion of the concepts of ‘counter-terrorism’ and ‘counter-insurgency’ would be meaningless without first defining what terrorism and insurgency actually are. A nuanced examination of what each term actually means shows that while closely related, they are nevertheless analytically discrete. Both counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency have often been used to describe similar state activities, but they are not interchangeable. Yet they do hold more objective meaning as well, though the difference between the two can sometimes be confusing.
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Repression, military and paramilitary action, and systematic human rights abuses are often justified in their name. ‘Counter-terrorism’ and ‘counter-insurgency’ as they are popularly understood are rhetorically loaded concepts.