Explain How Might Terrorism Be Distinguished From Other Forms Of Political Violence

How might terrorism be distinguished from other forms of political violence? Political violence is defined as ‘violence [that is] outside of state control that is political motivated’ (wwnorton). Many researchers have studied the realm of political violence by seeking to understand the way a group, population, and/or society participate in collective action, either violent or nonviolent, to solve political dilemmas. To understand political violence there most be a multi-disciplinary approach to understand conflict in its social complexity, such as, political instability, rebellions, social-movements, insurgencies etc. that use political violence as a tactic against their oppressors. One way to approach such an understanding is asking how groups and/or individuals hope the violence will achieve, what is their strategy, and how they seek to legitimize their violence (Guelke, 23).

Political violence and also terrorism is generated from ‘social structural stains’ that are caused by the lack of legitimacy by those who are in power (Gupta, 24). Social movements take place when state authorities are not able to provide public goods, such as, the protection from poverty, corruption, and the inability to protect citizens from threats, thus causes social unrest (Gupta, 25). Overtime, a population gains a sense of injustice, and even humiliation that creates social and political instability that creates political violence. When societies oppose illegitimate authorities and/or government actors, they can use political violence as a morally legitimate form of resistance to achieve political