notoriously hard to

出了名地難解釋的名詞

explain. There is no international consensus on the definition, legally or academically

這個詞在國際上沒有一致的定義，無論是在法律上還是學術上

for the

關於

term “terrorist”. In fact, the U.S. government has more than 20 definitions for it. And in

「恐怖主義者」一詞，美國政府就有超過20個定義

1996, the

在1996年

UN formed its own Ad Hoc Committee to draft an official explanation of the term, and that

聯合國的特設委員會對於「恐怖主義者」定出一個官方的定義

took

就花了

10 years. So, what exactly constitutes terrorism?

10年的時間，到底恐怖主義是什麼？

A mix of those definitions results in something like this: terrorism is violence, or the threat

有個綜合所有定義的解釋是──恐怖主義是殘暴或具有威脅的

of violence, against non-combatants or civilians, usually motivated by political, religious

暴力，武力脅迫非戰鬥人員或平民，以政治、宗教

or

或

ideological beliefs.

思想名義為動機

Outside of that broad definition, it might be better to explain terrorism by talking

撇除廣泛的定義不說，或許應該來區分一下

about what it

恐怖主義

is not.

和有組織犯罪

Terrorism is not organized crime. There are a few key differences. One is motivation.

恐怖主義與有組織犯罪不同，它們之中有些差異性，第一是動機

Terrorism is usually politically or socially motivated. Organized crime is profit motivated.

恐怖主義是以政治和社會為動機，有組織犯罪是以利益為動機

Secondly, people in organized crime do not usually seek media attention, something terrorists

第二，有組織犯罪不會去引起媒體的關注，而恐怖份子會

do. Third, organized crime doesn’t usually desire government recognition, unlike most

第三，有組織犯罪不會期望獲得政府的重視，這點和大多數

Terrorist

恐怖組織

groups.

不一樣

Terrorism is not violence carried out by one mentally ill person. This can be confusing,

恐怖主義不是因精神病所產生的暴力行為，這常令人混淆

because when it comes to violent acts, it’s not immediately apparent who is sane and who

當暴力行為產生時，很難去分辨誰是神智健全的

is

還是

insane. For example, Man Haron Monis took hostages in an

不健全的，譬如說雪梨人質事件

Australian cafe in December 2014. He claimed that it was an official attack on Australia

發生在2014，挾持人質者聲稱這是一場

by the

來自

Islamic State. However, after the siege ended, many people, like Australia’s Prime Minister,

伊斯蘭國的攻擊。然而在事件落幕後，許多人像是澳洲總理

agreed that he was mentally ill at the time and thus should not be considered a terrorist.

都認為他患有精神疾病因此不應該被當成恐怖份子

Monis

而劫匪莫尼斯

was killed in the siege and his true intentions and affiliations remain unknown. Research

在警方攻堅過程中身亡，他的目的以及與伊斯蘭國的關係仍是個謎。研究

shows

顯示

that 40% of “lone wolf” attacks are perpetrated by mentally ill individuals.

有4成的性格孤僻者因精神疾病而犯下攻擊事件

Terrorism is not violence perpetrated by a government against another nation. If a nation

恐怖主義並不是一國政府武力脅迫某一民族或國家，如果一個國家

commits an act of violence, it’s usually referred to as an “act of war” or, under

行使暴力，這通常被稱為「戰爭行為」，或者

certain

在某個

circumstances, an act of “self-defense”. There are some exceptions to this rule. If

情況下，被稱為「自衛」，不過也有例外，

a nation

如果一個國家

indirectly commits an act of terrorism by funding a terrorist organization or covertly

提供資金給恐怖組織或是暗地

organizing

策劃

the terrorist act, that is still considered by some, like the United States, to be a terrorist

攻擊，有些人像是美國認為這就是

action.

恐怖行動

Terrorism is also not an act of violence by a government against it’s own people. Nations

恐怖主義也不是一國政府武力威脅自己國民

like

例如

Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia had a history of terrorizing their own civilians, but those

德國納粹和蘇俄都有一段脅迫自己國人的歷史

were

但是這些事件

generally considered to be acts of oppression or repression and not terrorism.

都只被認定為是壓迫手段而非恐怖主義

These definitions are based on how the UN, the U.S., and many international Scholars

這些定義是根據聯合國、美國以及許多國際學者

interpret these terms. If you disagree or have a dissenting opinion, you are not alone.

所解釋的，如果你有不同的看法，你並非獨自一人

As we

就像我們

said at the top this, “terrorism” is notoriously hard to define and often used to mean many

一開始說過的，「恐怖主義」很難去定義且在

different things by pundits, politicians, and the media.

學者、政治人物和媒體都有不同的見解

If you want to know more, watch this video on “Why Terrorist Groups Can’t Last Forever”.

如果你想了解更多相關議題，可以參考「為什麼恐怖組織無法永遠存在」這部影片

Thanks for watching, and subscribe! We put out new videos 6 days a week.

謝謝觀賞並請按訂閱！我們固定每週6天都會推出新的視頻