Terrorism as a means of mobilization is a long-established phenomenon, as old as the tactic itself; but today its power to mobilize is enhanced by uniquely favorable international circumstances, especially new means of communication, the breakdown of economic barriers, and increasingly porous borders between states. No matter what we name it, success or failure in mobilizing a following determines the form the violence will take, be it terrorism, insurgency, guerrilla warfare, or civil war. Far more serious, a terrorist act may provoke a state to take actions that are against its own
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