The Politics of Protest [week 12]

Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism

How do we categorise different forms of ‘terrorism’?

-Clandestine violence- Unspecified violence- Semi-military violence- Autonomous violence

Donatella Della Porto (1995)

Preconditions for left-wing terrorism

-A sufficient amount of ‘bottled up’ anger- An intense political situation

- A confrontational state- Ineffective left-wing organisations

- No apparent alternative- Existence of credible models- Sufficient personal resolve

United States: Weather Underground

Germany: Red Army Faction

Italy: Red Brigades

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=bringing+it+all+back+home&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=ucsHkvcGbQslVM&tbnid=C7W8CpxMua6TXM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://nyugradhalls.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/bringing-it-all-back-home-international-development-in-reverse/&ei=dWoRUdzdH-Ox0QWtpoDABg&bvm=bv.41934586,d.d2k&psig=AFQjCNHqw1nAHpiCFI2uqwUs5-3wNsbQzA&ust=1360182218612962

Germany: Red Army Faction (Baader-Meinhof Group)

-Formed 1970- Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof, Gudrun

Ensslin, Horst Mahler- inspired by PFLP and Tupamaros

Led to formation of:- Revolutionary Cells (RZ)- Movement 2 June

Italy: 12th December 1969 bombings

-Piazza Fontana (16 dead, 100 injured)- Banca di Lavoro (14 injured)

- Piazza Venezia monument (4 injured)- The case of Giuseppe Pinelli

- Law and order in Italy- The role of the radical Right

- The case of Vittorio Ambrosini

Italy: Red Brigades (Brigate Rosse)

- Origins and sociology- founded 1970

- gradual move toward terrorist activities- passive worker support – two examples

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=brigate+rosse&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=ZjUy9N4i_cZ2JM&tbnid=XSKcbsET9e70sM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.8ball.co.uk/as-worn-by-joe-strummer-brigade-rosse-t-shirt&ei=OmYRUeKXCaWX0QWpvYBY&bvm=bv.41867550,d.d2k&psig=AFQjCNHfniMVBqDbj-c6fkHC9EZmWeVxHQ&ust=1360181157729948

http://baruda.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/2968366119_bea4785e28.jpg

The Role of Secret Services

-Italian Armed Forces Institute for Strategic Studies

- Field Manual 30-31- increase in terror, 1969-78

- peak period: 1978-89

Terror in Western Europe: who were the culprits?

Three key issues to consider:

-The propensity for left-wing terror- Who is to blame for all this?

- A crisis of legitimacy

CONCLUSIONS

1. The problem of responsibility2. The problem of legitimacy

3. The role of the state4. Continuity vs. change5. Looking to the future