Transcript Political Violence and Terrorism in Post-War Europe

Political Violence and Terrorism in
Post-War Europe, 1968-2001
The End stages of European
Terrorism?
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Defining Terrorism
• According to the scholar Paul Wilkinson,
the key identifiable characteristics of
political terror are as follows:
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Indiscriminate
Unpredictability
Arbitrariness
Ruthless destructiveness
Implicitly immoral/antinomian
Defining terrorism, cont.
• A mindless or senseless use of force?
• Or, a deliberate calibration of violence
and fear in order to produce a desired
political effect?
Defining Terrorists
• What role does ideology play in determining whether or
not a group(s) can be legitimately labeled “terrorists.”
(E.g., “propaganda by the deed,” iconography.)
• How is violence related to terrorism? (Killing enemies:
Casualties of declared wars are regarded as justifiable
homicides. Casualties caused by bombings, sabotage,
etc. in every other social context are usually associated
with terrorism.
• What role does the media play in defining terrorists and
terrorism? (Stereotypes, images of violence, etc.)
Ethics of Terrorism
• Can any radical
social/political
movement justify
on moral
grounds the use
of terrorism as a
means to an
end?
Ethics of Terrorism
• Is there a moral argument to be made for
terrorist acts? (E.g., the so-called “terrorist’s”
goal is: (1) to draw attention to “moral” crimes
being committed against a group (s) which are
being oppressed by the state or the dominant
forces of the society in which they live; (2) to
punish those guilty of committing such crimes;
(3) to advance the “just” cause of those who are
engaged in a struggle/warfare with their class
and/or ideological enemies.
Depicting Terrorism/terrorists
• Psychological/Sociological factors:1. Stereotyping terrorists: Sociopaths, outsiders, mentally
deranged (Unabomber), etc.
2. Media’s role in promoting stereotypes: publicizing and
sensationalizing violence and violent deeds. Examples,
“Carlos the Jackal”; “Baader-Meinhof gang”.
3. Upholding values and beliefs of status quo?
4. Media “darlings”: Constructing the “romantic
revolutionary” for public consumption. Examples,
“Baader-Meinhof gang”; “Che” Guevara.
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Defining terrorism, cont.
• Terrorism as a means of advancing
political goals or exercising political
control, e.g., militant nationalist
movements (ETA, IRA) and
dictatorships (Nazism and Stalinism).
• Shared terminology: Political terror
(style of rule) vs. political terrorism vs.
random acts of terrorism.
Cultural Dimension of Terrorism
• Convergence of Cold War politics and
domestic troubles.
• Years of tensions/crises give way to a more
peaceful, prosperous era.
• 1960s – material well-being and collective
realization of the dangers of Cold War
confrontations (e.g., Cuban missile crisis,
1962), produce a cultural reaction to the
Cold War.
Post-war, cont.
• 1968 Radicalism and beyond = Student
radicals and intellectuals who forcefully
challenged the ideological and economic
underpinnings of post-war society (mainly
in the capitalist West.) Break-away groups
of the 1970s – e.g., Baader-Meinhof (RAF)
and Brigate Rosse (BR) -- sought to
awaken the revolutionary élan of the
workers (masses) by attacking the pillars of
the status quo.
1968: A turning point?
• Year when a new trend of terrorism began:
1. Palestinian air hijackings
2. Black Panther activism in U.S. (Democratic
Convention in Chicago)
3. Militant Student movement in France,
Italy, W. Germany, and G. Britain
4. Prague Spring
Emergence of a Counter-Culture
• Escapism – Protest music (Folk songs, anti-war
anthems) vs. hedonism (Beatles, Rolling
Stones…)
• Political manifestations – Student revolts in
1968 (France, W. Germany, Italy, Great Britain)
• Prague Spring of 1968 – “Human Face” of
communism?
• Left-wing radicalism: Neither East nor West?
(Anarchism, Maoism, Situationism,
Trotskyism)
Voices of Dissent
• Daniel Cohn-Bendit: Agenda for the New Left.
• Critique of “old school” of communism:
Authoritarian Marxism (Bolshevism), Communist
Party of France (PCF), role of trade unions.
• How is New Left defined?
• Leading ideological/cultural figures: Albert
Camus, Guy Debord (Situationism), Antonio
Gramsci, Che Guevara, Mao Zedong.
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Post-1968 generation
• Militant radicalism:
challenging the
prevailing systems
with direct action.
• Baader-Meinhof
• Brigate Ross
• Angry Brigade,
Action Direct, etc.
Social and Political Context of
Terrorism during 1970s and 1980s
• Rise of xenophobia in W. Europe
(immigrant populations, etc.)
• Persistence of right-wing extremism (neoNazis activity in W. Germany, Neo-fascism
in Italy and elsewhere.)
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State responses to new wave of
politically-motivated
violence/terrorism
• Repressing dissent and eradicating
radicalism (culture of protest = violence).
• Campaign to discredit messages of Countercultural movement.
“Us” vs. “Them”: Issues = Vietnam, status
quo (economic, political, etc.) of Cold War
era…)
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End of Political Terrorism in
Europe?
• Decline of Cold War tensions: 1985-1989
• Economic and Political integration of
Europe (1986-)
• Democratization of greater Europe
(Western and former “bloc” countries.)
• Rise of religious conflicts between East and
West.
Terrorism in the 21st Century
• Terrorism equated
with war against
western civilization.