THE INABILITY OF MANY TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS TO CAUSE CHANGES MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE STRUCTURE OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM. THIS WORLD ORDER MAY BE SO SOLID THAT IT GIVES NO HOPE TO THOSE WHO WISH TO MODIFY IT. AT THE SAME TIME, SUCH A SYSTEM IS INCAPABLE OF IMPROVING AND CORRECTING ITSELF. THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM RESEMBLES AN ORGANIZATION WHICH ACTS IN A REPETITIVE WAY IN ORDER TO PRESERVE ITSELF, BUT WHICH IS INCAPABLE OF GIVING DECISIVE ANSWERS TO PROBLEMS. FROM THE TERRORIST'S PERSPECTIVE, TERRORISM MAY BE THE ONLY WAY IN WHICH THE WORLD SYSTEM CAN OBTAIN DYNAMISM. HOWEVER, THIS SOLUTION TO WORLD PROBLEMS IS NO BETTER THAN THE USE OF ARMS RACES AND ATOMIC DETERRENCE FOR THE PREVENTION OF WAR OR THE USE OF TERRORISM BY GOVERNMENTS AS MEANS OF PRESERVING PEACE. THE PRESENCE OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF TERRORISM SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT THE STRUGGLE IN THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM IS BECOMING MORE CIVILIZED AND IS BEGINNING TO RESEMBLE INTERNAL POLITICS. TERRORISM BY LOCAL GROUPS EVENTUALLY INVOLVES INTERNATIONAL POLITICS (HIJACKING AIRCRAFTS OR DESTROYING FOREIGN-OWNED PROPERTY), BUT THESE OFFENSES RESULT IN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION WHICH RUINS THE TERRORIST'S LOCAL SUCCESSES. IF THE TUPAMAROS WERE TO TAKE OVER URUGUAY, THEY WOULD BE CONFRONTED BY AMERICAN INTERVENTION NO LESS THAN THAT WHICH TOPPLED THE REGIME IN CHILE. LIKEWISE, EUROPEAN INTERNAL POLITICS WOULD BE AFFECTED BY A REVOLUTION IN ITALY. THEREFORE, BECAUSE OF INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION, TERRORISTS CANNOT FULLY DISTINGUISH THEIR ENEMIES AND THEIR OBJECTIVES. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (TWK)