IDEOLOGY AND TERRORISM IN ITALY: AUTOBIOGRAPHY AS A HISTORICAL SOURCE

In: Terrorism and political violence, Band 4, Heft 2, S. 47-61

Abstract

ANY ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM OF CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN TERRORISM MUST BEGIN WITH A HISTORICAL EXAMINATION OF THE IDEAS AND VALUES THAT HAVE MOTIVATED THE TERRORISTS COMPRISING THE CULTURE OF ANTI-DEMOCRATIC VIOLENCE AT BOTH POLITICAL EXTREMES. IN THIS PAPER, THE AUTHOR ANALYZES REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLES OF THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WRITINGS OF ITALIAN TERRORISTS ON BOTH THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT.