Political violence
Political violence is the use or threat of physical force to pursue political goals, influence public power, or contest political authority.
State violence: Physical force used by state institutions or their agents to control, punish, or coerce people. State institutions can use force to preserve authority or suppress political opposition.
Terrorism: The use or threat of violence against civilians to intimidate audiences and advance political or ideological aims. It is a strategy that uses fear beyond the immediate victims to pursue political ends.
Nonviolent resistance: Organized political action that uses methods such as strikes, boycotts, and civil disobedience without physical violence. It pursues political change through coercive pressure while rejecting physical force.
Human rights: Basic rights and freedoms regarded as belonging to every person. Political violence can violate rights to life, security, expression, and participation.
Non-state violence: Political or other violence committed by actors outside the formal institutions of the state. It distinguishes insurgents, militias, and other challengers from state perpetrators.
Insurgency: An organized armed rebellion that seeks to challenge or replace a government or occupying power. Insurgent groups use sustained force to contest the state’s authority.
Civil disobedience: Public, conscientious breach of law intended to challenge a policy or legal order. It contests authority openly through lawbreaking rather than physical violence.
Forced displacement: The compelled movement of people away from their homes because of conflict, persecution, or disaster. Political violence drives people from homes and can transform communities and borders.
Political repression: State action that restricts political participation or opposition through coercion, punishment, or intimidation. Repression can include force and often aims to deter challenges to authority.
Civil war: An armed conflict within a state between organized parties seeking political control or territorial power. It is a large-scale form of political violence involving organized domestic rivals.