Contemporary academic and public security discourses have produced a substantial body of literature on terrorism. However, there currently does not exist a single accepted definition of terrorism or what classifies an organization as a terrorist group. Different organizations that compile and classify terrorists and terrorist organizations operate under different and at times contentious and contradictory definitions of terrorism and terrorist groups. This is reflected in state classifications of terrorist organizations and which groups are represented in their lists. I believe it would be beneficial to the study of terrorism to examine the variance between these government compiled lists and explore why certain organizations are or are not represented in these lists as well as if these government lists contradict themselves based on their own definitional criterion for terrorist groups.
