MODERN TERRORISM AS A TOOL FOR DESTABILIZATION AND UNDERMINING STATE-BUILDING PROCESSES

Abstract

. The article examines the transformation of modern terrorism, which in the 21st century has evolved beyond the activities of radical groups into a complex instrument of state policy aimed at destabilizing sovereign states, undermining their institutional capacity, and disrupting state-building processes. Particular attention is paid to the strategy of “hybrid aggression,” within which aggressor states combine conventional military means with covert forms of violence, including the use of private military companies, infrastructure sabotage, cyberattacks, and large-scale information and psychological operations. It is argued that such actions are systematic in nature and are intended not only to cause physical destruction but also to generate public panic, demoralize the population, and erode the foundations of state sovereignty.

The study provides a legal qualification of these forms of violence through the prism of the 1987 Geneva Declaration on Terrorism, the Montreux Document, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, as well as norms of international humanitarian and international criminal law. It is demonstrated that the use of private military companies does not exempt a state from international legal responsibility, while the doctrine of command responsibility establishes a legal basis for holding high-ranking political and military leadership accountable for acts of state terror. The author proposes a definition of “state terrorism” and substantiates that attacks on critical infrastructure and civilians in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine may qualify as war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is concluded that effective protection of Ukrainian statehood requires not only military resistance but also the systematic use of international legal mechanisms, including universal jurisdiction, to ensure accountability for state-sponsored terror.