This study analyzes: i) how the definition of terrorism varies between distinct political contexts and goals, arguing that that such definitions depend on political context; ii) how terrorism might be analyzed using mainstream International Relations Theory, debating the limits and possibilities of these schools of thought, and; iii) how South American countries have adopted a global counterterrorism strategy which is clearly exogenous to their proper political agendas. The theoretical proposal of this article is to analyze terrorism as a political phenomenon using the theoretical apparatus of the Copenhagen School, availing itself of several South American cases.
Theory of International Relations; Terrorism; South America
