Environmental terrorism as a modern threat to humanity
The article focuses on the dynamics of the development of terrorism as a socio-legal phenomenon. Environmental terrorism does not occupy a leading position in the gradation of environmental problems, but its manifestations can cause quite severe consequences for the world and society. The article reveals the factors confirming the potential danger of environmental terrorism for the world community. The authors emphasize that in the current situation, namely, without a clear definition of the concept of a particular type of terrorism, it is unknown what can be attributed to a particular type of terrorist activity based on doctrinal documents in the Russian Federation. The normative acts of foreign countries on this subject are investigated. The authors ’ concept of environmental terrorism is proposed and the need to consolidate and concretize the concepts of a particular type, subspecies of terrorism in order to effectively counter terrorist offenses is substantiated. Since the proposed definition also contains some evaluative concepts, it is proposed to give them a separate explanation in the relevant official doctrines and other strategic planning documents. The authors also note that in practice there are cases of substitution of concepts when “environmental terrorism” and “environmental activism” do not differentiate or replace each other. Environmental activism is a movement of “greens” in defense of the environment, which can be accompanied by radical actions, which does not coincide with the key features of the concept of “environmental terrorism”. This once again underlines the need to develop concepts of types of terrorism that would be supported by sufficiently detailed explanations, taking into account possible new manifestations.