International Cooperation Against Terrorism: Super Geo-political Thinking: Super Geo-political Thinking

Author: Yang Jiemian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: This book takes the new developments in the international situation since the "9/11" incident as the background, conducts an in-depth study of the anti-terrorism struggle from multiple aspects such as theory, policies and practices of various countries, and international institutions, and proposes that in the anti-terrorism struggle, emphasis should be placed on eradicating the soil of terrorism, strengthening international cooperation, paying attention to non-traditional security threats, and noting the role of non-state actors. It also suggests that one should be skilled in utilizing geopolitics while also transcending it. Chapter International Terrorism and International Cooperation in Counter-Terrorism
Section Analysis of the Definition of Terrorism
The violent activities that carry the connotation of "terror" have been an old issue. Activities like assassination can be traced back to approximately 3,000 years ago in recorded human history; however, as a concept, "terrorism" has only existed for about 200 years since its emergence. During this period, as a combination of theory and practice, people's understanding of terrorism has varied greatly due to differences in time, space, and interests. So far, although the international community has proposed many definitions of terrorism, these definitions have different focuses. Among the most frequently occurring conceptual elements are "violence, political nature, fear or terror, and threats." Due to the understanding of terrorism being based on different national interests, worldviews, and religious beliefs, terrorism has become a highly ambiguous term. "One person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter"—this vividly depicts the chaotic phenomenon. The over 100 influential definitions of terrorism existing in the world today reflect the diverse political and economic interests and value orientations of various countries, reflecting the reality that the current international system remains unstable and turbulent, and even reflecting the intense competition for interests among countries. Although we all believe that terrorism is a cancer on the world and that we must oppose it, and that we must engage in defensive or even offensive struggles against terrorists, there is still disagreement on what constitutes terrorism, what constitutes a terrorist or a terrorist organization, and on which laws and by whom they should be formulated for counter-terrorism. The core issue of these disagreements remains the unresolved problem of defining terrorism. There is no clear and effective counter-terrorism treaty, and even the existing counter-terrorism treaties cannot be implemented. Therefore, clarifying the definition of terrorism is at least the first step in understanding the roots of the disagreements over its definition, and is the primary prerequisite for studying the theoretical and practical issues of the international anti-terrorism movement. This is also because, by nature, terrorism and its definition are fundamentally a political and interest issue, not just an academic one. Understanding terrorism, like understanding many other political concepts, cannot be defined solely from one's own perspective but must explore its fundamental meaning from its opposite.