"Terror is the curse of man," wrote Dostoyevsky in "The Devils," a novel portraying the multifarious political climate of 19th century Russia. This often-overlooked period, which presaged the Communist Revolution, saw Russia experiencing unprecedented levels of terrorism by an assortment of groups such as anarchists, nihilists, populists and socialists.
The discussion of this tumultuous and critical period is among the most engaging passages in "The History of Terrorism: From Antiquity to Al Qaeda," edited by Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin. The book, which includes essays by the editors as well as other scholars, provides a useful and levelheaded survey of a subject that is regularly understood and often manipulated.
The very term "terrorism" is complex and takes on widely varying meanings depending on one's viewpoint. Accordingly, the book begins with a rigorous chapter by political scientist Ariel Merari that provides both a typology of terrorist acts and thoughtful insights on what distinguishes terrorism from other forms of violence. Although many definitions of terrorism exist, Merari discerns three common elements in these definitions: "(1) the use of violence; (2) political objectives; and (3) the intention of sowing fear in a target population."
These common elements recur in the book's survey of terrorism, which begins with the ancient Jewish sect known as the Zealots, who rebelled against the Roman Empire, and an extremist Muslim group called the Assassins, who terrorized European crusaders. Chaliand and Blin make clear their purpose in including a discussion of these ancient organizations: "The histories of the Zealots and especially of the Assassins illustrate a fact that is obscured in most analyses of modern terrorism: terrorism is not a recent phenomenon."
Indeed, one gets the sense early in "The History of Terrorism" that, if nothing else, the editors wish to impress upon their readers that terrorism was not born on Sept. 11, 2001. Rather, it has been a part of human society for thousands of years. Suggesting an explanation for the persistence of terrorism throughout the ages, they write: "The aspiration, individual or collective, together with a burning desire to wield power - or to prevent another from wielding power over oneself, which amounts to the same thing - logically leads to political extremism and its corollary, ideological or religious fanaticism."
Chaliand and Blin go on to write that "terrorist attacks tend to come in waves," and one such wave occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when terrorism was prevalent not only in Russia, but also used by anarchist and socialist groups throughout the Western world. In many ways, this wave of terrorism ended with the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by a member of a Serbian nationalist organization, the event that triggered World War I.
Nonetheless, terrorism continued to be used throughout the 20th century by diverse groups, some of which have been largely forgotten. For example, while many associate India's struggle for independence with the nonviolent methods of Mohandas Gandhi, nationalist organizations in India used violence, including the 1909 assassination of an English government associate. Similarly, it is easy in today's political climate to overlook that, during the 1960s, '70s and '80s, many Western European countries were plagued by terrorist groups such as the Red Army Faction and Basque separatists.
While stressing that terrorism did exist long before radical Islam, the editors devote a large portion of their book to a study of the origin and tactics of groups such as al Qaeda, much of it written by French police official Philippe Migaux. Doing so is a recognition of the fact that, regardless of historical antecedents, terrorism today is largely centered on such organizations. Indeed, as Migaux writes, "[t]wo trends emerged following the collapse of the Soviet bloc: the near-cessation of state terrorism and the end of Palestinian secular terrorism and of European far-left revolutionary terrorism. Islamic terrorism, however, began to pick up steam."
Among the themes that emerge from the book is the importance of technological innovation in the history of terrorism. As Olivier Hubac-Occhipinti points out when discussing 19th century anarchism, various inventions - from the steam engine to the telephone - facilitated the work of terrorists. Likewise, Chaliand and Blin write that "[d]ynamite radically changed terrorist technology and was a major factor in the rise of anarchist and populist movements." Migaux also points out that governments today fear that terrorists may use modern weaponry such as nuclear and chemical weapons to strike civilian populations. The book could have benefited from thorough analysis of the ways in which terrorists today are using non-weapons technology, such as the Internet and satellite communications, to conduct their activities.
Implicit throughout "The History of Terrorism" is a skepticism regarding the Bush administration's oft-stated goal of eradicating terrorism. Indeed, the editors make no secret of their view that the administration has acted unwisely since Sept. 11, referring to American policy in Iraq as "confounding." Writing that "[t]errorists almost always demonstrate a greater aptitude for orchestrating violence than political acumen," Chaliand and Blin seem to doubt whether governments can always do better.