Terrorism: A Brief History

Terrorism’s history teaches important lessons about the causes and consequences of asymmetric warfare between standing armies and paramilitary insurgents. This chapter supplies a series of snapshots of the long sweep of terrorist activity, running from the turn of the twentieth century’s “Golden Age of Assassination” to 9/11 and beyond. Terrorists, whether “lone wolves” or members of militant groups, differ sharply in their motivations, their tactics and the goals they pursue – indeed, some leftist groups have not articulated any purpose beyond “wrecking the system” – but economic models of rational human action help identify some commonalities and, what is most important, supply ways of seeking answers to history’s open questions.