Terror is ... Political terror. Mass terror

History knows some examples, when state management was based on fear. This allowed to strengthen the power and destabilize society, the soul in the bud any revolutionary moods.

The Essence

An exact definition beginning with the words "terror is ..." does not exist yet. Not every politically motivated murder and even mass repressions fall under this notion. And yet it is worth trying to understand what it is.

First of all, it is worth to say a few words about the etymology of this word. In Latin, terror is horror, fear. And this is the essence of this phenomenon. This same word Ozhegov's dictionary defines as intimidation of the civilian population, expressed in physical violence up to destruction. And indeed, it can manifest in different ways, but still in this definition missed an important point - the goal.

It can be physical or psychological pressure, repression, approval of denunciations or something else, but this process is always aimed at destabilizing and generating an atmosphere of general anxiety. The goal in this case is not violence as such, it is important to intimidate people so that they can be easier to manage. This can be achieved by a variety of methods. But in themselves they are not terror. These are only means for manipulating the masses.

Nature

There are 3 different views on what terror is. This allows us to consider various aspects of this phenomenon. In addition, they do not contradict, but complement each other. On the one hand, terror can be seen as a specific armed conflict of low intensity. Another point of view focuses attention on the criminal component and perceives this phenomenon as a type of criminal offense. Finally, the socio-political aspect allows us to say that terror is a kind of struggle aimed at changing the existing order of things.

Types and methods

First of all, it is necessary to distinguish between individual and mass terror, which, apparently, differ in the number of objects. Of course, there is also a set of methods that help to realize their goals. And it is absolutely unnecessary to resort to murders and injuries, after all, almost every person has something to lose - work, property, freedom. And yet physical violence in various forms is the most popular form of influence.

Almost any tactic of intimidation has a fairly simple algorithm: you just need to organize an action where a small number of people will be involved, who will be harmed, and then let the others understand that the same can happen to them. It is not necessary to use a person who is a symbol of something, even on the contrary, casual victims of terror can be even more effective in the sense that each representative of the society will associate himself with them.

Effects

In addition to the fact that terror is always human victims, there are less obvious results. Frequent and sudden attacks not only cause fear, but also lead to the destruction of spiritual and moral values, including in the long term. There is a deformation of the public consciousness, expressed in a decrease in tolerance. There is a breakdown of the fundamental civil rights, the authority is losing authority, distrust grows and even hatred for other ethnic groups is born . In addition, in some cases, as a result of terror, not only people but also the culture that they were carriers have been destroyed. Society in a short time falls on several stages of development, and it is impossible to overcome this gap even for several generations.

Examples in History

First of all, many people come to mind terror in the USSR, the famous Stalinist repressions. But, unfortunately, human history knew many more similar and even more terrible examples.

For the first time, the concept of terror was applied to the events of the Great French Revolution, when for 16 months, according to various estimates, 16 to 40 thousand people were executed. Some also believe that the practice of decimation, applied even in ancient Rome, can be attributed to this concept.

A little later - in the second XIX century - social political terror finally took shape in terms of ideology. During this period, the world experienced a wave of anti-colonial and separatist unrest, as a result of which India, Vietnam, Korea and others gained independence.

In the USSR, in addition to Stalin's repressions, the so-called red terror is widely known , expressed in the destruction of social groups declared class enemies. As a result, the intelligentsia almost completely disappeared, and the imperial family was also shot.

In the XXI century, social and political terror does not cease. And the most terrible thing is that increasingly sophisticated weapons and technologies give cruel people new opportunities to realize their treacherous plans.