Terrorists perform terrible acts. They maim, mutilate and kill inpursuit of their goals. The horrifying events of 9/11 and theregular suicide bombings around the world have made terrorism oneof the central preoccupations of the twenty-first century. But whatis the distinctive wrong of terrorism? Criminal acts such as murderand hijacking are already on the moral statute books, so why is itthat we regard terrorists as different from and morally worse thanordinary killers and kidnappers? Some see terrorism is an ideology, others claim it is adeep-seated social or psychological failing, others that it is aform of fighting unfairly judged by just-war standards. In thisprovocative new book, Robert Goodin puts forward the view thatterrorism is, in fact, a deliberate tactic of frightening peoplefor socio-political gain. Fear affects peoples ability to reasonclearly and undermines their capacity for autonomousself-government. In this way, Goodin contends that terror is not only the weaponof organizations such as al-Qaeda; it also benefits democraticpoliticians who profit from the climate of insecurity induced byterrorist threats and violence. Political figures conducting acampaign of fear as part of their war on terrorism may therefore becommitting wrongs akin to those of terrorists themselves. This,Goodin argues, is what is distinctively wrong with terrorism in thecontemporary world.