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Political Violence and Terrorism in Post-War Europe,

1968-2001The End stages of European

Terrorism?

Defining Terrorism• According to the scholar Paul

Wilkinson, the key identifiable characteristics of political terror are as follows:

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.

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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.

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 hijackings2. 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)

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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.

Post-1968 generation

• Militant radicalism: challenging the prevailing systems with direct action.

• Baader-Meinhof• Brigate Ross• Angry Brigade,

Action Direct, etc.

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Social and Political Context of Terrorism

during 1970s and 1980s• Rise of xenophobia in W. Europe

(immigrant populations, etc.)• Persistence of right-wing

extremism (neo-Nazis 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 Counter-cultural movement.

“Us” vs. “Them”: Issues = Vietnam, status quo (economic, political, etc.) of Cold War era…)

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.