The Revolutionary Mystique and Terrorism in Contemporary Italy

The Revolutionary Mystique and Terrorism in Contemporary Italy

Author: Richard Drake

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2021-03-02

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 0253057140

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What drives terrorists to glorify violence? In The Revolutionary Mystique and Terrorism in Contemporary Italy, Richard Drake seeks to explain the origins of Italian terrorism and the role that intellectuals played in valorizing the use of violence for political or social ends. Drake argues that a combination of socioeconomic factors and the influence of intellectual elites led to a sanctioning of violence by revolutionary political groups in Italy between 1969 and 1988. Drake explores what motivated Italian terrorists on both the Left and the Right during some of the most violent decades in modern Italian history and how these terrorists perceived the modern world as something to be destroyed rather than reformed. In 1989, The Revolutionary Mystique and Terrorism in Contemporary Italy received the Howard R. Marraro Prize from the Society for Italian Historical Studies. It was awarded for the best book that year on Italian history. The book is reissued now with a new introduction for the light it might shed on current terrorist challenges. The Italians had success in combating terrorism. We might learn something from their example. The section of the book dealing with the Italian "superfascist" philosopher, Julius Evola, holds special interest today. Drake's original work takes on new significance in the light of Evola's recent surge of popularity for members of America's alt-right movement.


Ending Terrorism in Italy

Ending Terrorism in Italy

Author: Anna Cento Bull

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-06-07

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 1135040796

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Ending Terrorism in Italy analyses processes of disengagement from terrorism, as well as the connected issues of reconciliation, truth and justice. It examines in a critical and original way how terrorism came to an end in Italy (Part I), and the legacy it has left behind (Part II). The book interrogates a wide array of published memoirs and a considerable number of new face-to-face interviews with both former terrorists and first and second generation victims In the last two decades, and especially in recent years, former extreme-right terrorists in Italy have started to talk about their past involvement in terrorist violence, including, for the first time, acts of violence which have for decades been considered taboo, that is to say, bomb attacks against innocent civilians. These narratives add to the perspectives offered by members of left-wing terrorist groups, such as the Red Brigades and Prima Linea. Surprisingly, these narratives have not been systematically examined, yet they form a unique and extremely rich source of first-hand testimony, providing invaluable insights into processes of youth radicalization and de-radicalization, the social re-integration of ex-terrorists, as well as personal and collective healing. Even less attention has been paid to the victims’ narratives or stories. Indeed, the views and activities of the victims and their associations have been seriously neglected in the scholarly literature on terrorism, not just in Italy, but elsewhere in Europe. The book therefore examines the perspectives of the victims and relatives of victims of terrorism, who over the years have formed dedicated associations and campaigned relentlessly to obtain justice through the courts, with little or no support from the state and, especially in the case of the bombing massacres, with increasing awareness that the state played a role in thwarting the course of justice. Ending Terrorism in Italy will be of interest to historians, social scientists and policy makers as well as students of political violence and post-conflict resolution. .


Comparative Counter-Terrorism Law

Comparative Counter-Terrorism Law

Author: Kent Roach

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-07-23

Total Pages: 839

ISBN-13: 1107057078

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This book provides a systematic overview of counter-terrorism laws in twenty-two jurisdictions representing the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia.


Cultures of Counterterrorism

Cultures of Counterterrorism

Author: Silvia D'Amato

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-02-21

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 0429878400

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This book investigates counterterrorism responses from a strategic-culturalist perspective, focusing on France and Italy in the post-9/11 era. Terrorism occupies a predominant space within contemporary political debate across all European countries. Recent attacks in Europe have raised many questions about the status of counterterrorism structures within European countries, revealing a wide range of practical as well as discursive security implications. This work provides an original contribution to the understanding of counterterrorism by asking how values, norms, and a shared sense of identity matter in policy dynamics. It explores and assesses which cultural elements are relevant for the fight against terrorism and investigates the impact which these elements can have on practical approaches to terrorism. Despite the current attention to terrorist attacks in Europe, the cases of France and Italy in counterterrorism affairs are particularly overlooked by the existing literature; this book analyses, questions, and examines the strategy of these two countries through the instruments offered by the culturalist approaches to strategy. This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism studies, discourse analysis, European politics, security studies, and international relations in general.


De-Radicalization in the Mediterranean

De-Radicalization in the Mediterranean

Author: Lorenzo Vidino

Publisher: Ispi Publications

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13: 9788867058181

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In the past few years jihadist terrorism and radicalization have become some of the most critical threats to the Mediterranean region. Countering violent extremism (CVE) has thus become a crucial priority in the area. While the responses of local governments have been varied, with a greater focus on the use of hard-power, repressive measures, the need to add alternative actions of prevention and rehabilitation to the already existing repressive policies has been highlighted by authorities throughout the region. To emphasize this aspect of the fight against extremism, this ISPI report seeks to provide an analysis of the policies and measures adopted to counter violent extremism in different Mediterranean countries. In particular, it sheds light on the practices of the North African and Middle Eastern countries that have been affected the most by this phenomenon and have been at the forefront of the fight on terror, acquiring valuable experience throughout the years. For this purpose, the experts brought together in this volume illustrate the policies of contrast, prevention and de-radicalization that have been adopted by countries in the MENA region, revealing emerging trends, lessons learned and overviews of the security status of the countries in the area. Their findings demonstrate a diverse approach to CVE that attempts to match and counter the unique local conditions which drive radicalization in each state, while also seeking to provide insight and policy recommendations for CVE measures.


The Rise And Fall Of Italian Terrorism

The Rise And Fall Of Italian Terrorism

Author: Leonard Weinberg

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-09-16

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 100030521X

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Italian democracy may not be as fragile as many of its observers feared or imagined. It has lasted more than twice as long as the Fascist dictatorship that preceded it. Since the end of the Second World War, Italy's citizens and their political leaders have had to overcome massive problems of both state and society that their counterparts in more tranquil parts of Europe have not encountered. The particular problem to which this book is devoted is that of political terrorism. This book deals with a large-scale and protracted outbreak of domestic terrorism. It is concerned with terrorist violence in Italy committed by Italians against other Italians, the purpose of which was to influence the course of that country's political life.


Italy’s Divided Memory

Italy’s Divided Memory

Author: J. Foot

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2009-12-07

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 0230101836

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This book argues that contemporary Italian history has been marked by a tendency towards divided memory. Events have been interpreted in contrasting ways, and the facts themselves often contested. Moreover, with so little agreement over what happened, and why it happened, it has been extremely difficult to create any consensus around memory. These divisions have been seen at all levels, but take on particular importance when linked to the great traumatic and life-changing events of the Twentieth century - war, terrorism, disaster - but can also be applied to more cultural fields such as sport and everyday life. Social change also has an impact on memory. This book will take the form of a voyage through Italy (and into Italy's past), looking at stories of divided memory over various periods in the twentieth century. These stories will be interwoven with analysis and discussion.


Italian Neofascism

Italian Neofascism

Author: Anna Cento Bull

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2011-12

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 085745174X

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During the Cold War Italy witnessed the existence of an anomalous version of a civil conflict, defined as a 'creeping' or a 'low-intensity' civil war. Political violence escalated, including bomb attacks against civilians, starting with a massacre in Milan, on 12 December 1969, and culminating with the massacre in Bologna, on 2 August 1980. Making use of the literature on national reconciliation and narrative psychology theory, this book examines the fight over the 'judicial' and the 'historical' truth in Italy today, through a contrasting analysis of judicial findings and the 'narratives of victimhood' prevalent among representatives of both the post- and the neo-fascist right.


Fear Thy Neighbor

Fear Thy Neighbor

Author: Lorenzo Vidino

Publisher: Ledizioni

Published: 2017-09-11

Total Pages: 108

ISBN-13: 8867056204

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Over the last three years Europe and North America have been hit by an unprecedented wave of terrorist attacks perpetrated by individuals motivated by jihadist ideology. Who are the individuals who have carried out these attacks? Were they born and raised in the West? Or were they an “imported threat”, refugees and migrants? How did they radicalize? Were they well educated and integrated, or social outcasts? Did they act alone? What were their connections to the Islamic State? The answers to these and other questions have large implications for our understanding of the threat facing us and, consequently, help us design sounder policy solutions built on empirical evidence. This study, the first of its kind, seeks to analyze the demographic profile, radicalization trajectories and connections to the Islamic State of all the individuals who have carried out attacks inspired by jihadist ideology in North America and Europe in the three years since the proclamation of the caliphate in June 2014.