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.
Symbolism of terrorism
The symbolic choices of terrorist targets are not only meant to send isolated messages, but reflect the greater symbolic rhetoric of terrorism in general. Terrorism, it has been argued, refutes the strategy of gaining ideological victory through a single act. Instead, "the rhetorical stance of terrorism... is patient, the chipping away at the symbolic or ideological foundation of its targets.” Each target is strategically chosen to fit into the greater message.