Special-interest terrorism and single-issue terrorismSingle Issue Terrorism
( Canadian Security Intelligence Service). are forms of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

that, unlike other forms such as

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

and

religious terrorism Religious terrorism is a type of religious violence where terrorism is used as a strategy to achieve certain religious goals or which are influenced by religious beliefs and/or identity. In the modern age, after the decline of ideas such as the ...

, tend to focus on a few or only one specific issue rather than on more widespread political, religious or other social change. Those pursuing special-interest terrorism conduct acts of violence in the belief that these will compel a society to change its attitudes toward, treatment of and/or priority given to their cause in their favour. They tend to occupy the extremist fringes of movements that address issues such as

the environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses t ...

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

and

nuclear technology Nuclear technology is technology that involves the nuclear reactions of atomic nuclei. Among the notable nuclear technologies are nuclear reactors, nuclear medicine and nuclear weapons. It is also used, among other things, in smoke detectors an ...

. Within these, it is some of the more extreme environmental and anti-abortion groups that have turned most toward

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

and terrorist activities."The Terrorist Threat Confronting the United States"
( US Congressional testimony). One well-known form of special-issue terrorism is

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

eco-terrorism Eco-terrorism is an act of violence which is committed in support of environmental causes, against people or property. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines eco-terrorism as "...the use or threatened use of violence o ...

, which in the 1980s was the only type of special-interest terrorism included in

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

statistics.p.26
in Brent L. Smith, ''Terrorism in America: pipe bombs and pipe dreams''. Another form of special-issue terrorism is anti-abortion violence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Special-Interest Terrorism Special-interest terrorism