NCJ Number
56215
Date Published
1979
Length
66 pages
Annotation
THIS DISCUSSION OF THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY (IRA) AND THE BAADER-MEINHOF GROUP IN WEST GERMANY THEORIZES ABOUT CONDITIONS OF TERRORISM IN WESTERN EUROPE WITH REGARD TO ETHNIC AND STUDENT TERRORIST MOVEMENTS.
Abstract
MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE IRA AND THE BAADER-MEINHOF GROUP ACCOUNT FOR THE PERSISTENCE OF ETHNIC TERRORISM AS COMPARED WITH THE MORE FLEETING EXISTENCE OF IDEOLOGICAL TERRORISM. GOALS OF THE IRA HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PRECISE, SEVERING OF ALL TIES TO GREAT BRITAIN AND CREATING A SOVEREIGN IRISH REPUBLIC. GOALS OF THE BAADER-MEINHOF GROUP ARE STATED IN MORE GENERAL TERMS, SUCH AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PROLETARIAN ARMY TO FACILITATE THE INITIAL STAGES OF A REVOLUTION. IT IS CONTENDED THAT TERRORISM IN WESTERN EUROPE IS SPORADIC. THREE REASONS ARE GIVEN FOR THE BELIEF THAT ETHNIC AND STUDENT IDEOLOGICAL TERRORIST GROUPS OPERATE UNDER CONDITIONS UNFAVORABLE TO TERRORISM. FIRST,IN PLURALIST-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES, IT IS DIFFICULT TO ISOLATE BOTH A MONOLITHIC ENEMY OPPRESSOR AND A HIGHLY-VISIBLE OPPRESSED SOCIAL GROUP. TERRORISTS HAVE NO PROBLEM IN DEFINING THESE TWO GROUPS, BUT THE DIFFICULTY IS IN CONVINCING HOST GROUPS OR POTENTIAL ALLIES OF A SIMILAR DICHOTOMY. SECOND, TERRORISTS IN WESTERN EUROPE MUST COPE WITH THE OVERWHELMING MATERIAL SUCCESS OF MOST ECONOMIES IN THE REGION AND WITH THE STABILITY OFTHE REGION'S POLITICAL SYSTEMS. THIRD, IT IS EVIDENT THAT RATIONALES OF THE IRA AND THE BAADER-MEINHOF GROUP ARE SIMPLISTIC AND BASED ON A DISTORTED 19TH CENTURY VIEW OF THEIR SOCIETIES. HISTORICAL EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGING CONDITIONS FOR TERRORISM IN WESTERN EUROPE, THE EVOLUTION OF THE IRA, AND THE GERMAN STUDENT MOVEMENT AND THE BIRTH OF THE BAADER-MEINHOF GROUP ARE REVIEWED. NOTES ARE INCLUDED. (DEP)