Abstract ‘Terror and terrorism’ discusses strategies in which terror is used to break an opponent’s willingness to fight or to induce a change in a rival power’s policy or behavior. Terror often causes little damage to a foe’s physical capacity to fight, even if it inflicts mass casualties. Targets are usually chosen for their psychological rather than their material effect. Terror and terrorism are military strategies largely because of their coercive power. Terrorism is violence (discriminate or otherwise) directed against noncombatants to influence public opinion or to modify a government’s policies. Whether terrorism constitutes a strategy or a tactic is still a matter of debate.