Terrorism
Terrorist acts frequently have a political purpose. Some official, governmental definitions of terrorism use the criterion of the illegitimacy or unlawfulness of the act. to distinguish between actions authorized by a government (and thus "lawful") and those of other actors, including individuals and small groups. For example, carrying out a strategic bombing on an enemy city, which is designed to affect civilian support for a cause, would not be considered terrorism if it were authorized by a government. This criterion is inherently problematic and is not universally accepted, because: it denies the existence of state terrorism. An associated term is violent non-state actor.
Terrorism: Opposing Viewpoints (2004)
Terrorism: Opposing Viewpoints is a book, in the Opposing Viewpoints series, presenting selections of contrasting viewpoints on four central questions about terrorism: whether it is a serious threat; what causes it; how America's domestic war on it should be conducted; and how the international community should respond to it. It was edited by Laura K. Egendorf.