Terrorism
Terrorism is, in the broadest sense, the use of intentionally indiscriminate violence as a means to create terror among masses of people; or fear to achieve a religious or political aim. It is used in this regard primarily to refer to violence during peacetime or in war against non-combatants. The terms "terrorist" and "terrorism" originated during the French Revolution of the late 18th century but gained mainstream popularity during the U.S. presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981–89) after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings and again after the 2001 September 11 attacks and the 2002 Bali bombings.
Military psychology
It is important to understand when and how the label of terrorism is applied because of its psychological impact as suggested above. The causes, goals, methodology, and strategy of the terrorist mindset is well suited for psychological inquiry and the development of the strategy and tactics used to confront it. Terrorism is an ideology that uses behavioral, emotional, and group dynamics, along with social and psychological principles to influence populations for political purposes. It is a form of psychological warfare. The terrorists are experts in the use of fear, violence, threats of violence and trauma in order to advance the political agenda. Terrorists seek psychological control and use violent behavior to cause the population to behave in ways that disrupt and destroy the existing political processes and symbols of political power. They control people by using deep primal emotions to elicit a reaction and shape behavior.