Introduction to State terrorism: a systematic literature review

Abstract

The study aims to investigate the current state of academic discussion on the use of the term "state terrorism". Specifically, it aims to identify the theoretical terms used for the expression "state terrorism". To this end, a systematic literature review was carried out on the concept, inspired by Galvan (2014). The option was  accessing the largest possible number of productions on the subject in Portuguese and the main works in English. It was possible to verify the existence of a debate on the very conceptual possibility of state terrorism. Next, among the authors who believe that the phenomenon is possible, it was possible to systematically map the different concepts of state terrorism proposed, in their various elements and conceptual difficulties. It was also possible to observe the enormous heterogeneity of the examples provided by the authors, as well as observations of a more reflective-philosophical nature on the subject. Finally, reflections formulated after the literature review were presented, in three main points.