Special-interest terrorism and single-issue terrorism
[Single Issue Terrorism](_blank)
(Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; french: Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité, ''SCRS'') is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating i ...
). are forms of
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
that, unlike other forms such as
right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, autho ...
,
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...
and
religious terrorism
Religious terrorism is a type of religious violence where terrorism is used as a strategy to achieve certain religious goals or which are influenced by religious beliefs and/or identity.
In the modern age, after the decline of ideas such as th ...
, tend to focus on a few or only one specific issue rather than on more widespread political, religious or other social change.
Those pursuing special-interest terrorism conduct acts of violence in the belief that these will compel a society to change its attitudes toward, treatment of and/or priority given to their cause in their favour. They tend to occupy the
extremist
Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...
fringes of movements that address issues such as
the environment,
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
and
nuclear technology
Nuclear technology is technology that involves the nuclear reactions of atomic nuclei. Among the notable nuclear technologies are nuclear reactors, nuclear medicine and nuclear weapons. It is also used, among other things, in smoke detectors an ...
. Within these, it is some of the more extreme environmental and anti-abortion groups that have turned most toward
vandalism
Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property.
The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and #Defacement, defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owne ...
and terrorist activities.
["The Terrorist Threat Confronting the United States"](_blank)
( US Congressional testimony).
One well-known form of special-issue terrorism is
environmental or
eco-terrorism
Eco-terrorism is an act of violence which is committed in support of environmental causes, against people or property.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines eco-terrorism as "...the use or threatened use of violence ...
, which in the 1980s was the only type of special-interest terrorism included in
FBI statistics.
p.26
in Brent L. Smith, ''Terrorism in America: pipe bombs and pipe dreams''. Another form of special-issue terrorism is anti-abortion violence
Anti-abortion violence is violence committed against individuals and organizations that perform abortions or provide abortion counseling. Incidents of violence have included destruction of property, including vandalism; crimes against people, inc ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Special-Interest Terrorism
Special-interest terrorism