http://revista.ieee.es/index.php/ieee 266 Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies Núm. 8 / 2016 With the appearance of modern terrorism, the concepts of terror, terrorism, and State te-rrorism have gained a unique relevance. Some States have even been considered «terrorist States» when committing, tolerating, or instigating terrorist activities. An example of this was in the twentieth century in some countries in South America, such as Chile (General Pinochet), or Argentina (General Videla’s Military Junta). The activities that a State carries out are considered terrorist if fear spreads throughout the population as a result of indiscri-minate aggressions, detentions, kidnappings, incarcerations, executions, selective assassina-tions, financing of paramilitary groups, etc., regardless of the intervention of the national armed forces in terrorist activities against other countries in acts of war. From a historical point of view, organizations and institutions have carried out systematic and prolonged terrorism, to the point of becoming one of their main acti-vities. State and Sub-state groups have also carried out terrorism, though sporadically or ad hoc, in armed conflicts, in processes of popular insurrection, in the battlefield, in guerrillas or in urban disturbances. More specifically, attacks considered terrorist attacks have been carried out and perpetrated by criminal organizations such as mafias, drug-trafficking cartels, racist or xenophobic groups, or other groups with extremely radical political and social ideologies. Regarding socio-political repercussions of terro-rism, we can add that terror has caused harm, suffering, and pain to the victims, and persecution, imprisonment, death and political failure to the killers. On few occasions have terrorist movements achieved their political or social objective, despite the reper-cussion sought through the media at a national or international level as a result of their violent actions, intending to support States politically, triggering, or prolonging social and political conflicts, or destabilizing political and social institutions in countries. The evolution of terrorism The progress made in communications, the technological development of all kinds, and the ethnic-religious motivations of their followers have increased and improved the structures of terrorist organizations, as well as the collaboration with organizations and movements from other countries. Furthermore, they have increased their operative capability, and use of violence making their armed actions more spectacular, and provoking more panic and terror to the population7. Traditionally, terrorist groups had an ideological, religious, or patriotic motivation, an objective which is currently manifested with less relevance although it may still be used as propaganda in the communication media, and to achieve greater popular support8. 7 DE LA CORTE, óp. cit., pg.32-33. 8 CESEDEN (Centro Superior de Estudios de la Defensa Nacional – National Defense Studies Center), International organizations and the fight against terrorism, Monographs of CESEDEN, Conclusions of the XLIII Monographic Course, Ministry de Defense, Madrid, 2005, pg.52.
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