Naming Names: The Prudence, Propriety and Potential Ramifications of Employing “Terrorist” Nomenclature to Describe Militant Separatists in Eastern Ukraine
Naming Names: The Prudence, Propriety and Potential Ramifications of Employing “Terrorist” Nomenclature to Describe Militant Separatists in Eastern Ukraine

Author(s): Matthew C. Kane
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, International Law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar Sp. z o.o.
Keywords: Terrorism; terrorists; militants; separatists; Ukraine
Summary/Abstract: The term “terrorism” is politically charged and easily abused. From a positivist, state-centric perspective, labelling pro-Russian Ukrainian militants as terrorists is a wholly reasonable proposition. The elements of the Ukrainian definition appear to be met, as are those of the Russian definition. Many of the acts attributed to these separatists also appear to meet regional and international definitions, and even most of the more theoretical approaches. Yet such definitions are subject to criticism both in their lack of specificity and their uneven application. Far more concerning, however, is the extension of the terrorist classification to all pro-Russian militants. It is not clear that such application is definitionally appropriate or, more importantly, that it is a step likely to prove helpful in addressing the violence in Ukraine, particularly where the end goal is to ameliorate the threat. Delineating between discrete acts of terrorism and the broader separatist movement seems a wise course, unless and until there remains no question that the ‘terrorist’ attacks are part of a coordinated strategy by particular groups of separatists. At that point, distinguishing between those specific groups and the broader separatist movement would again seem prudent.

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