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Article: International terrorism: responses and justifications: Ron Smith discusses the problem of combating terrorism and suggests the need for international cooperation and coordination.
- Article from:
- New Zealand International Review
- Article date:
- July 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Old habits die hard and nowhere is this more evident than in talk about terrorism. For many this is still an incorrigibly contested concept, and thus the word and its cognates still tend to be used exactly as a particular speaker or writer may choose. This is clearly a state of affairs that hobbles rational debate. If we are effectively to deal with the problem of terrorism (and especially international terrorism) we must accept a clear definition of the concept and stop hiding behind arbitrary and self-serving usages. This should not be a difficult project since the United Nations has already set out a conceptual framework and begun filling in the detail. Of course, this ...