A survey of main approaches to defining terrorism in the modern world political science

The paper describes the emergence of the notion of terrorism which appeared in the 18th century while the phenomenon of terrorism goes back to ancient times. The author explains why it is customary for political science to differentiate terrorism from terror. The study reviews the notion of terrorism in evolution and presents the main modern approaches to defining it. The author summarizes and analyzes the possible reasons for the lack of a universal notion of terrorism. These reasons include the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter, politicization of the problem, and a vast variety of forms, types, and manifestations of terrorism. The study presents the probable future definition of terrorism. The author concludes that, in the near future, it is the operational approach that will dominate according to which the universal notion of terrorism is unnecessary.