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Following the protest movements and radicalism of the late sixties, many affluent countries experienced lethal revolutionary terrorism. Groups like the Red Brigades in Italy and the Red Army Faction in Germany provoked political crises in their countries. Other affluent countries, however, did not experience this same kind of violence. This book offers a historical-comparative explanation of this cross-national variation, focusing on the development paths followed by countries during the interwar period. The countries that followed a non-liberal path (marked by anarchist terrorism, democratic breakdowns, civil wars, land inequality, non-liberal capitalism, and late industrialization) suffered lethal left-wing terrorism decades later. Terrorism is thus explained as a feature of the political and economic system. Drawing on several fields, including comparative politics, political economy, international relations, and historical sociology, this book offers novel hypotheses about the determinants of violent conflict.
Provides a historical-comparative analysis of terrorism which will appeal to both academic and general readers
Demonstrates the historical roots of terrorism to encourage new discussions on how to analyze the topic
Combines detailed empirical description with quantitative analysis, appealing to those in comparative politics and international relations
Offers the first comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of revolutionary terrorism in affluent countries
Introduction
1. The argument: from development paths in the interwar years to revolutionary terrorism in the 1970s
2. Revolutionary terrorism and its ideological roots
3. The major cases of revolutionary terrorism
4. Contemporary effects and background conditions
5. The long-term determinants of revolutionary terrorism
6. Historical mechanisms: radicalism and repression
7. Individualism, modernization and violence.
Description
Following the protest movements and radicalism of the late sixties, many affluent countries experienced lethal revolutionary terrorism. Groups like the Red Brigades in Italy and the Red Army Faction in Germany provoked political crises in their countries. Other affluent countries, however, did not experience this same kind of violence. This book offers a historical-comparative explanation of this cross-national variation, focusing on the development paths followed by countries during the interwar period. The countries that followed a non-liberal path (marked by anarchist terrorism, democratic breakdowns, civil wars, land inequality, non-liberal capitalism, and late industrialization) suffered lethal left-wing terrorism decades later. Terrorism is thus explained as a feature of the political and economic system. Drawing on several fields, including comparative politics, political economy, international relations, and historical sociology, this book offers novel hypotheses about the determinants of violent conflict.
Provides a historical-comparative analysis of terrorism which will appeal to both academic and general readers
Demonstrates the historical roots of terrorism to encourage new discussions on how to analyze the topic
Combines detailed empirical description with quantitative analysis, appealing to those in comparative politics and international relations
Offers the first comprehensive analysis of the phenomenon of revolutionary terrorism in affluent countries
