Individual terror
Encyclopedia
In leftist terminology, individual terror, a form of revolutionary terror
, is the murder
of isolated individuals with the goal of promotion of a political movement, of provoking political changes, up to political revolution
. As such, it differs from other forms of targeted killing
, in particular, the close type of individual murder, the ancient practice of political assassination.
Ze'ev Iviansky
attempted to draw a distinction as follows. While revolutionary individual terror and traditional political assassination share the common goal, a major political change, they differ in various aspects: tactics, methods, role, view on the society, and significance of an individual act. Most of the differences stem from the immediate purpose of an individual act. In traditional political assassination the target of the killing is a central political figure, such as the king
or dictator
, whose removal would give way to political changes, and as such the choice of the target is of primary importance. The ultimate goal is to hit the regime represented by the target. Whereas in individual terror, the choice of the target, while important, is secondary to the primary goal, which is to bring the attention of the public to a political movement and to promote the political movement. This key distinction explains differences in tactics. While traditional political assassination may well be clandestine, the efficiency of revolutionary individual terror in a greater extent depends on the publicity of the act.
The target of a political assassination is usually a very specific individual, while the target of an act of terrorism is not.
David C. Rapoport
(1971) drew the difference as follows: "...the assassin destroys men who are corrupting the system, while the terrorist destroys a system which has already corrupted everyone it touches..."
. Part of its theoretical base was "propaganda by deed" put forth by the ideologists of anarchism
. Different revolutionary parties had different attitude to individual terror, for political, tectical, moral, and other reasons.
Revolutionary terror
Revolutionary terror ) refers to the institutionalized application of force to counterrevolutionaries, particularly during the French Revolution from the years 1793 to 1794...
, is the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of isolated individuals with the goal of promotion of a political movement, of provoking political changes, up to political revolution
Political revolution
A political revolution, in the Trotskyist theory, is an upheaval in which the government is replaced, or the form of government altered, but in which property relations are predominantly left intact...
. As such, it differs from other forms of targeted killing
Targeted killing
Targeted killing is the deliberate, specific targeting and killing, by a government or its agents, of a supposed terrorist or of a supposed "unlawful combatant" who is not in that government's custody...
, in particular, the close type of individual murder, the ancient practice of political assassination.
Individual terror vs. political assassination
Many authors do not draw distinction between types of political assassinations and furthermore, there is no full consensus on the issue.Ze'ev Iviansky
Ze'ev Iviansky
Ze'ev Iviansky is a former lecturer at the department of General History and Russian Studies of the Hebrew University He is the author of the book Individual Terror, Theory and Practice and numerous articles on terrorism. He has also made significant contributions to 1905 - Revolution and Terror,...
attempted to draw a distinction as follows. While revolutionary individual terror and traditional political assassination share the common goal, a major political change, they differ in various aspects: tactics, methods, role, view on the society, and significance of an individual act. Most of the differences stem from the immediate purpose of an individual act. In traditional political assassination the target of the killing is a central political figure, such as the king
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
or dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
, whose removal would give way to political changes, and as such the choice of the target is of primary importance. The ultimate goal is to hit the regime represented by the target. Whereas in individual terror, the choice of the target, while important, is secondary to the primary goal, which is to bring the attention of the public to a political movement and to promote the political movement. This key distinction explains differences in tactics. While traditional political assassination may well be clandestine, the efficiency of revolutionary individual terror in a greater extent depends on the publicity of the act.
The target of a political assassination is usually a very specific individual, while the target of an act of terrorism is not.
David C. Rapoport
David C. Rapoport
David Charles Rapoport is UCLA Professor Emeritus of Political Science, and an expert in terrorism. He is the editor of the scholarly journal Terrorism and Political Violence.-Works:...
(1971) drew the difference as follows: "...the assassin destroys men who are corrupting the system, while the terrorist destroys a system which has already corrupted everyone it touches..."
History
The roots of individual terror as revolutionary tactics lie in the second half of the 19th century in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Part of its theoretical base was "propaganda by deed" put forth by the ideologists of anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
. Different revolutionary parties had different attitude to individual terror, for political, tectical, moral, and other reasons.
Further reading
- "The Russian Socialist Revolutionary Party before the First World War," by Manfred Hildermeier, ISBN 3825842592, LIT Verlag Münster, 2000.
- Its Section 12.3.2: "Individual terror: Anachronistic politics" discusses the change of the attitude to individual terror within the Russian Social Revolutionary Party
- Walter LaqueurWalter LaqueurWalter Zeev Laqueur is an American historian and political commentator. He was born in Breslau, Germany , to a Jewish family. In 1938, Laqueur left Germany for the British Mandate of Palestine. His parents, who were unable to leave, became victims of the Holocaust...
, A History of Terrorism- Discusses individual terror in 19th century anarchismAnarchismAnarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
, MarxismMarxismMarxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
and other left-wing movenents
- Discusses individual terror in 19th century anarchism
- Ze'ev Iviansky, Individual Terror, Theory and Practice, 1977