International terrorism,human rights,and World order

Abstract

This article attempts to summarize the efforts that have been made during the 1970s in the search for an appropriate definition of international terrorism, its causes, and the measures to combat it. It evaluates these efforts in the context of the simultaneous interests in human rights. It advances some propositions as to how international terrorism could be seen from the perspectives of both social‐psychological theories of violence and Western legal practices. In conclusion, the relationship between the individual and the state is evaluated in the context of the present world order and its operative political and legal principles. Although this approach may not solve the problem of international terrorism by advancing any neat scheme of control which can be readily applied by anxious governmental law enforcement agencies, nor succeed in articulating a strategy for the respect of human rights by governments and individuals, it will hopefully generate some ideas about how justice can be rediscovered while searching for viable solutions for both international terrorism and human rights.