Chapter 12: Managing Terrorism Risks

Like for many issues concerning risk, defining the issue is key to grasping it and setting the course for effective risk management. Providing a clear definition of terrorism impacts diagnostic, communication and response to this issue and so has consequences for society and politics. However, a suitable universal definition remains elusive because different bodies, organisations, and government agencies have different definitions to suit their own role, purpose, or bias.

Hoffman concludes that:

The effects of terrorism are enhanced by the possibilities offered by social media, which provides multiple platforms on which these acts can be discussed, shared, and promoted.

Terrorism has been used throughout history to intimidate and discourage opposition from enemies and subordinates. From ancient Greece to the French Revolution, the Sicarii to Nazi Germany, the Spanish Inquisition to the Ku Klux Klan, history is littered with examples of groups using violence, threats, psychological cruelty and anarchy to achieve their aims.