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Terrorism Between Terrorism And Terrorism

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Terrorism in the twenty-first century has become an important phenomenon, as well as a key security issue for most countries. The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade and the Pentagon demonstrated the damaging impacts of such attacks.
Since then, large-scale attacks have grown which establish the ongoing terrorist campaigns that continue over time, including the attacks in Iraq since the US invasion. The attacks not only constitute a threat but instead the cumulative effects of such operations are also very important. Fatality numbers also confirm the growing vulnerability of civilians everywhere to terrorism. (Collins, 2009)
Terrorism has never been a new concern, but it has only become more prominent due to the relatively recent attacks on the West including the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in January.
Terrorism by definition is difficult to describe and the definition tends to vary widely, but they usually start at a common point of departure. Most scholars, including Lutz, interprets terrorism as a ‘pejorative concept used to create power in situations in which power has previously been lacking.’ (Lutz et al. 2005)
Baylis et al. defines it as ‘the use of violence by sub-state groups to inspire fear, by attacking civilians and/or symbolic targets, for purposes such a drawing widespread attention to a grievance, provoking a severe response, to effect political change.’ (Bayis et al. 2010)

However recently the definition of terrorism has started to evolve. A modern tendency

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