Chapter 2: The Origins of Modern Terrorism

1. Chapter 2:The Origins of Modern Terrorism

2. Modern Democracies and the Birth of Terrorism in the West

3. Modern Democracies and the Birth of Terrorism in the West • First use of term terrorism • The French Revolution • Middle class wrestled power from nobility • Extremely bloody power struggle • Edmond Burke, British political philosopher, called the revolution “The Reign of Terror” • Terrorism = slaughter of French nobles, families, and sympathizers

4. Modern Democracies and the Birth of Terrorism in the West • Radical European democrats of the early 1800’s wanted to eliminate power of upper classes • Worked for redistribution of wealth (known as socialists) • Believed political power should be held common, wealth belonged to everyone, and all institutions should be democratic • Upper/middle classes often equated terrorism and socialism

5. Terrorism and the Anarchists

6. Terrorism and the Anarchists • How the terms Socialism and Anarchy became related • By the 1850’s, radical democrats divided into two factions: militant socialists and more peaceful socialists. Both groups referred to their movements as anarchism. • Term anarchy originated by Greek philosophers who spoke of eliminating governments

7. Terrorism and the Anarchists • Proudhon vs. Marx • Proudhon: • Called for extension of democracy to all classes through elimination of property and government • Believed all government was evil • Believed in non-violent anarchy • Marx: • Saw centralized government as necessary evil • Government needed to protect individual rights of citizens

8. Terrorism and the Anarchists • Major leaders of Anarchist movement • Mikhail Bakunin: Russian revolutionary who fought against the tsar; joined by Sergey Nechaev • Nikolai Morozov: Primary spokesperson for People’s Will • Karl Heinzen: Radical German democratic who advocated political murder • Johann Most: Believed that violent action was best form of propaganda; advocated “philosophy of the bomb”

9. Terrorism and the Russian Revolution

10. Terrorism and the Russian Revolution • Late nineteenth-century Russia • Peasants extremely poor • Russia’s economic and governmental systems were insufficient to handle changes brought by industry • When Tsar Alexander attempted changes in the system, revolutionary terrorism was the result

11. Terrorism and the Russian Revolution • The People’s Will • Motivated by anarchist revolutionary theory of Bakunin and Nechaev • Launched in 1870’s, sought to terrorize government, Orthodox church, police, and military into submission • Campaign of bombing and murder resulted in killing of Tsar Alexander II in May 1881 • Alexander III launched period of national repression; leaders of People’s Will killed or arrested; remaining members went underground • People’s Will resurfaced in 1905 revolution but failed to topple Tsar Nicholas II.

12. Terrorism and the Russian Revolution • 1905 revolution of lower classes • Russia plagued by economic problems and bureaucratic inefficiency after losing war to Japan • Demonstrations by unemployed workers and mutiny by men enlisted in Russian Navy • Actions brutally repressed but spirit of revolution simmered

13. Terrorism and the Russian Revolution • The Revolution of 1917 • Russians tired of tsar and economic woes; a strike in St. Petersburg became first of two revolutions in 1917 • Russian Army joined workers in revolution and new government was formed; these revolutionaries called Mensheviks • Russians promised allies to remain in war • Created unrest at home • Inspired Germans to attempt to remove Russia from WW I • Germans found help from Lenin • Lenin gained control of Bolsheviks (Communist revolutionaries who opposed Mensheviks) • Orchestrated second revolution in October 1917, which removed Russia from WW I • October revolutionaries used terrorist violence to gain power and repressive terrorism to maintain power

14. Nationalistic Revolutionaries

15. Nationalistic Revolutionaries • 1800s witnessed growth of anarchism and nationalism • Goals of nationalist organizations: • Use terrorism to wrestle control of government from other nationalities or ethnic groups • Nationalists fought to govern, as opposed to anarchists who fought to impose ideology on government

16. Nationalistic Revolutionaries • Comparison of nationalistic terrorism and anarchism • Both have similar stages of development: learn terrorist tactics and then use them • Both groups use similar justifications for violence, claiming moral necessity for their group to govern society

17. Nationalistic Revolutionaries • Bell links anarchy and nationalistic traditions using IRA (Irish Republican Army) as example • Since 1916, IRA inundated with socialist revolutionaries and nationalists who reject some aspects of socialism • Bell believes Ireland is best example of nationalistic terrorism and anarchism as framework of modern European terrorism

18. Nationalistic Revolutionaries • Clutterbuck vs. Bell • Clutterbuck argues that link between anarchy and nationalistic terror is not so clear • Believes nationalistic terrorism in Ireland extremely important because its innovations ushered in practice of modern terrorism • Terrorism did not develop as logical step from anarchist violence to modern terrorist practice • Ireland set the stage for modern international terrorist operations

19. Irish History and the Growth of Modern Terrorism

20. Irish History and the Growth of Modern Terrorism • Why was Ireland ripe for terrorism when IRA was created? • Centuries of religious strife since A.D. 800 • History of violence through every generation • After American Civil War, Irish soldiers who fought for the North joined with other Irish people to create republic of Ireland free from British control. In 1916, this Irish Republican Army tried to take control of Dublin but were defeated by the British

21. Irish History and the Growth of Modern Terrorism • Modern terrorism came to Ireland in 1919 • Michael Collins took command of IRA and waged fierce campaign against British • Collins studied tactics of Russian revolutionaries, and his followers used bombs, murder, ambushes, and other terrorist tactics to fight Protestant police force and British army. Ireland gained independence in 1921 but British held the north of Ireland • Collins was killed in 1922 by former revolutionaries opposing peace with the British. After his death, IRA outlawed by Republic of Ireland.

22. Irish History and the Growth of Modern Terrorism • Role of British army in rebirth of IRA • As violence grew in Northern Ireland after failed Catholic civil rights movement, British sent army to stop rioting • Young soldiers sided with loyalists against Republicans and brutally repressed Catholics

23. Irish History and the Growth of Modern Terrorism • IRA Tactics • From 1970-1990, bombing was primary tactic • Murder • Kidnapping • Killing adversaries at established roadblocks • Assassination of government officials, enemy terrorists, Catholics advocating compromise, police officers, and soldiers

24. The Influence of Past Experience

25. The Influence of Past Experience • Dyson’s conclusions about terrorist behavior • Unlike criminals, terrorists study the history of past campaigns and the theory that motivated them • Counterterrorism starts with understanding the roots of terrorism

26. The Influence of Past Experience • Issues shaping modern terrorism: • The ideology of modern terrorism emerged from 19th century revolutionary thought • Such thought spawned revolutions in Russia, and influenced Michael Collins to apply the same tactics to Ireland’s nationalistic revolution • Terrorists in the 20th century studied Michael Collins and improvised from IRA tactics

27. The Influence of Past Experience • Current terrorist networks: • Today, terrorism is dominated by religion, ideologies serving as surrogate religions, and racial/ethnic divisions • Roots of self-proclaimed ‘religious terrorists’ are in traditions of Lenin and Collins