which these frameworks were created to combat. Terrorism is a highly debated topic within the realm of security studies, especially in regards to what it constitutes. There is, however, a certain degree of accord amongst scholars in regards to what terrorism entails. The definition by which this essay will address the concept of terrorism is compiled through Alex Schmid’s research of the over 250 different ways in which terrorism has been defined in both a professional and academic sense. 57 These proposed definitions are put forward from a range of actors; from academics to government organisations. In acknowledging and assessing this range of varying definitions; terrorism may be defined as “an act in which the perpetrator intentionally employs violence (or its threat) to instil fear….in a victim and the audience of the act or threat”. 58 This definition can be said to encompass a wide range of differing views of the terminology behind terrorism. It should be understood that such a definition fails to flawlessly define terrorism in every aspect, however, it does give a foundation from which to build an understanding. Moreover, it recognises what could be argued to be one of the most distinctive attributes of terrorism; its intended purpose. The understanding that the violence (or threat of) has a greater intended impact than simply upon the direct victims of the act can be argued to help distinguish an act of terrorism from that 57 Alex P. Schmid, The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research , ed. by Alex P. Schmid (Abindgon, UK: Routledge, 2011), pp. 99– 157. 58 Michael Stohl, 'State terror: the theoretical and practical utilities and implications of a contested concept', in Contemporary Debates on Terrorism , ed. by Richard Jackson and Samuel J. Sinclair (Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2012), pp. 43–50, p. 45.
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