TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2010//
TI  - In defence of 'terrorism': finding a way through a forest of misconceptions
JO  - Behavioral sciences of terrorism and political aggression
A1  - Jackson, Richard
SP  - 116
EP  - 130
VL  - 3
IS  - 2
N2  - This article offers a revisionary re?description of the central characteristics of terrorism in an attempt to put forward a persuasive definition under which scholars could converge. It accepts that there are valid reasons for rejecting the term, not least because it is a socially constructed label that has been misused in public discourse. Nonetheless, it argues that, based on a ?minimal foundationalist? ontological position, it is possible to define and describe the key characteristics of terrorist violence. The article then attempts to re?describe the characteristics of terrorism by dealing with a number of common misconceptions, such as the notion that terrorism is violence directed at civilians or non?combatants by non?state actors, before offering a contingent definition of terrorism relevant to the present historical moment. The article concludes by outlining a range of additional pragmatic and normative reasons for retaining the term as a research concept.<p /> 
LA  - 
SN  - 1943-4472
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19434472.2010.512148
ID  - ref1
ER  -