The construction of a formal definition of terrorism has been a long-standing dilemma
among scholars, governmental agencies, and the international community. Each attempt has
focused on different aspects of the phenomenon. For example, Alex P. Schmid made one of the
earliest attempts to define terrorism in 1983:
Terrorism is a method of combat in which random or symbolic victims serve as an
instrumental target of violence. These instrumental victims share group or class
characteristics that form the basis for their selection for victimization. Through the
previous use of violence or the credible threat of violence, other members of that group or
class are put in a state of chronic fear (terror). This group or class, whose sense of
security is purposefully undermined, is the target of terror. The purpose of this indirect
method of combat is either to immobilize the target of terror in order to produce
disorientation and/or compliance or to mobilize secondary targets of demands (e.g., a
government) or targets of attention (e.g., public opinion) to change their attitude or
behavior favoring the short or long term interests of the users of this method of combat.2Although this definition is fairly comprehensive, there is some confusion as to what is meant by
the term “victims.” It ignores the fact that acts of terrorism do not necessarily have to be
perpetrated against humans alone, but can also be directed toward property. For instance, the
bombing of a governmental computer database center containing vital national security
information or the destruction of a pipeline providing much-needed natural gas to a particular
region of the United States can also be considered acts of terrorism, depending upon the motive.3
Also in 1983, the U.S. State Department adopted the following definition of terrorism
contained in Title 22 of the United States Code, Section 2656f (d):
Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant...