Terrorism is defined only in terms of violence against the civilian population. The primary purpose of terrorism, whether motivated by political, religious, social, economic, or racial conflict, is to create public recognition for the perpetrator. Given the nature of a terrorist act, its intended results will create immediate shock in the population. Perpetrators hope that the shock will develop into public hysteria and that the target government will then be perceived as ineffective, negligent, or unacceptable. A legal and political analysis is used to understand the scope of terrorism and the current failure to move toward greater containment. The author proposes that, through international cooperation, the grounds for international extradition be made neutral and that use of the political exception rule for those whose extradition is sought for nonterrorist violence be retained. The author also calls for narrowly defined, but liberal use of electronic surveillance in the United States, aimed at persons who are introduced legally into the country to become assimilated by a community while awaiting orders to conduct an act of terrorism. The International Court of Justice is recommended as a means of committing all nations to one unified extradition procedure for those accused of terrorism. Appendixes contain definitions of terms and excerpts from key statutes and treaties. References and footnotes