Terrorism is defined by illegality, not by who commits it

Evidence

Terrorism is a strategy of violence designed to force desired sociopolitical changes by instilling fear in the public at large. Public intimidation is a key element that distinguishes terrorism from other forms of violence. In conventional violence, victims are personally targeted. Terrorism relies on third-party violence in which the identity of the victims is incidental to the terrorists’ purposes. Terroristic violence is directed at civilians and essential infrastructure to pressure the government to change its policies and practices. It is neither the ends nor the severity of the operational means but the third party that characterizes terrorism. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2103 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: State violence against civilians is never categorized as terrorism — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 401; Terrorism is defined by third-party violence against incidental victims, not targets or means — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2103; Religious terrorism does not differ in method from secular terrorism — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2234 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Terrorism is defined by third-party violence against incidental victims, not targets or means #complicates (0.75) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2103
• War against terrorism is itself a form of terrorism. #complicates (0.75)