Citation

Holton G. Terrorism 1978; 1(3-4): 265-276.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1978)

DOI

10.1080/10576107808435413

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

There has been an historic transition through which Type I terrorism and Type II terrorism are being combined. Type I terrorism consists of acts that attempt to impose terror by individuals or small groups on other individuals and groups, and through them indirectly on their governments. Type II terrorism is the imposition by governments on individuals or on groups of local or foreign populations, e.g., the use of atomic weapons, poison gas, Nazi camps for genocide. The new type of terrorism--Type III--has all the components for success. The article deals with how this new terrorism disrupts personal and historic memory through large‐scale catastrophe organized for that purpose. It is pointed out that this type of terrorism is met with self‐protection on the conscious level and has very little psychic cost on the perpetrators. Type III terrorism results from states disseminating high‐level technology. Target nations will not have open to them the conventional responses and will have to devise new methods. The danger of technical failure in the use of new methods of terrorism is very real.

Language: en