Limitations and inconsistencies of using the four waves of modern terrorism to understand Latin America

Abstract

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Rapoport’s theory of waves of terrorism has been considered a milestone when studying terrorist movements worldwide. This theory states that terrorism develops due to temporal, ideological and technological trends, which stimulate or diminish expressions of terrorism. More concretely, Rapoport argues that since the 19th century, global events have generated four waves of terrorism: anarchist, anticolonial, New Left, and religious. Using the Latin American experience of terrorist movements, this article explores inconsistencies and two main limitations in Rapoport’s theory. Firstly, it shows how Latin America’s historical and political particularities led to the weakness or absence of the anarchist and religious waves. Secondly, this article evidences that Rapoport ignored state terrorism and narcoterrorism, both extremely relevant to understanding terrorism in the region. Consequently, this study concludes that, despite it constituting a powerful theory for understanding terrorism from a global perspective, it requires a more nuanced regional approach and attention to more exhaustive expressions of the terrorist phenomenon.