Political Violence: Concepts, Theories, War, Civil War, Terrorism, and Assassination

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering the core concepts, theories, typologies, and strategic models of political violence, war, civil war, terrorism, and assassination across lecture units.

Political Violence (Traditional Definition)

Violence outside of state control that is politically motivated, predicated on the foundational assumption that the nation-state holds a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force over a given territory.

Structural Violence

A form of violence wherein social structures or institutions harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs or realizing their full potential, resulting in outcomes such as poverty, hunger, malnutrition, social exclusion, humiliation, and powerlessness.

The Conceptual Problem (Perry Mars)

A definitional challenge in political violence examining whether violence should be understood as that which destabilizes or stabilizes a political system (equilibrium vs. disequilibrium), and whether it represents illegitimate action by fringe actors or legitimate force deployed by the state to restore order.

The Timing Problem (Keith Krause)

An analytical problem highlighted by triggers such as Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation in Sidi Bouzid, demonstrating how an isolated confrontation with local police can unexpectedly precipitate widespread protests, state response, and international regional contagion like the Arab Spring.

Narcoterrorism

A specialized subcategory of terrorism that arises when criminal drug cartels—whose activities are normally motivated purely by economic gain—systematically target government officials to coerce or alter public policy.

Levels of Analysis (Political Violence)

A tiered framework for examining political violence consisting of the Macrosystem level (collective, historical, and structural factors), the Mesosystem level (group, organizational, and relational factors), and the Microsystem level (personal, individual, and psychological factors).

Relative Deprivation (Ted R. Gurr)

The tension that develops from a perceived discrepancy between collective value expectations (the 'ought') and collective value capabilities (the 'is'), predisposing individuals toward violence through a frustration-aggression dynamic.

Decremental Deprivation

A form of relative deprivation occurring when collective value expectations remain stable over time while collective value capabilities experience a sharp decline.

Aspirational Deprivation

A form of relative deprivation occurring when collective value capabilities remain static over time while collective value expectations escalate significantly.

Progressive Deprivation

A form of relative deprivation occurring when value expectations and value capabilities both rise simultaneously for a period, after which capabilities plateau or drop while expectations continue to increase.

Rational Actor Model (Political Violence)

A decision-making framework assuming actors weigh costs and benefits using a utility function, proceeding with an action when the net present value of expected future benefits exceeds the anticipated future costs.

Sacred Values (Scott Atran)

Moral imperatives that motivate human action independently of concrete material goals, rendering compromise impossible because treating disputes over secular issues as sacred removes them from rational, material bargaining.

Devoted Actor

An individual willing to make extreme personal sacrifices that are independent of, or appear entirely out of proportion to, any realistic prospects of instrumental success, galvanized by group solidarity and costly ritual commitments.

Realism (Thucydides)

A theoretical perspective originating from the History of the Peloponnesian War arguing that the behavior of states and political leaders is fundamentally determined by self-interest, power dynamics, and strategic uncertainty rather than moral ideals.

Jus ad Bellum

The branch of just war theory that establishes the 'just cause' criteria determining the legitimate conditions under which a state or political community may initiate war or armed force.

Jus in Bello

The branch of just war theory that regulates 'just conduct,' setting ethical and legal constraints on combatants and military commanders during hostilities.

Jus post Bellum

The branch of just war theory governing 'just peace,' focusing on the ethical termination of armed conflicts, armistice negotiations, and post-war settlements.

Legalist Paradigm (Michael Walzer)

An international normative framework holding that independent states form a society with rights to territorial integrity and sovereignty, making any aggressive use or threat of force a crime that justifies wars of self-defense and collective enforcement.

Crime of Aggression

Under the 1945 Nuremberg Charter, the planning, preparation, initiation, or waging of a war of aggression, or waging a war in violation of international treaties, agreements, or common conspiracy plans.

War Crime

Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, comprising unlawful acts committed against protected persons or property during an armed conflict.

Crime Against Humanity

Any unlawful act committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population with knowledge of the attack, distinct from war crimes because it does not require an active armed conflict.

Moral Equality of Soldiers

The ethical rule in warfare asserting that all combatants on the battlefield possess equal status and rights to fight and be targeted, irrespective of whether their nation's cause in starting the war was just or unjust.

Noncombatant Immunity

The foundational principle of jus in bello establishing that civilians may not be directly attacked under any circumstances and must never be the deliberate objects of military operations.

Intrastate War (Civil War)

A conflict fought between armed forces representing the recognized government of a state and one or more domestic non-state groups residing within the same sovereign territory.

Insurgency

A small-scale, asymmetric rebellion conducted by an organized non-state group against state authority, characterized by subversion, evasion, and guerrilla tactics rather than static conventional warfare.

'Old' Civil Wars (Stathis Kalyvas)

A traditional classification of civil wars described in literature as ideologically driven, politically motivated, grounded in collective grievances, supported broadly by the population, and governed by relatively controlled violence.

'New' Civil Wars (Stathis Kalyvas)

A contemporary classification of internal conflicts characterized as criminal, depoliticized, and predatory, driven by private loot, lacking mass popular support, and employing gratuitous violence against civilians.

Civilian Targeting (Jessica A. Stanton)

Premeditated, politically motivated violence directed against noncombatants during armed conflict, operating as an umbrella term for criminal actions and war crimes in combat zones.

Terrorism

An action-centered strategy involving premeditated violence against civilians intended to communicate a political or ideological message to a broader audience—typically the government—through psychological fear.

Attrition (Terrorist Strategy)

A strategy in which a militant group attacks the enemy to demonstrate sufficient resolve and capacity to inflict sustained, escalating costs until the government yields to its political demands.

Intimidation (Terrorist Strategy)

A strategy directed against the militant group's own population to deter dissent, compel behavioral compliance, and signal that the state is incapable of protecting citizens who cooperate with authorities.

Provocation (Terrorist Strategy)

A strategy aimed at inducing an enemy government into launching a harsh, indiscriminate military retaliation, which convinces the domestic population that the state is oppressive and drives support toward the insurgent group.

Spoiling (Terrorist Strategy)

A strategy designed to undermine and sabotage peace settlements or negotiated compromises between moderate leaders and the enemy state by casting doubt on the moderates' ability to enforce peace.

Outbidding (Terrorist Strategy)

A factional strategy where rival militant groups use dramatic acts of violence to compete for the loyalty, resources, and support of the same domestic constituency by proving they are more resolute and committed.

Assassination

The intentional killing of a specifically selected individual through perpetrator action in order to achieve distinct political or ideological objectives.

Operational Success vs. Objective Success (Assassination)

Operational success evaluates solely whether the targeted individual was successfully killed, whereas objective success evaluates whether the assassination advanced the perpetrator's overarching political or ideological goals.

Assassination as Strategic Choice

A linear decision-making process progressing through six distinct stages: 1) Political Objective, 2) Assessment of available tactics, 3) Belief that a particular target is causally important, 4) Decision to target that individual, 5) Assassination, and 6) Political Consequences.

Sicarii

An ancient Jewish assassin faction operating during Roman rule known for concealing small daggers (sicae) under their cloaks to execute political and religious enemies in public crowds.