The Historical Roots of Political Violence: Revolutionary Terrorism in Affluent Countries

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.

Author: Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 06/06/2019
Pages: 296
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.34lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.81d
ISBN: 9781108482769

Review Citation(s):
Choice 11/01/2019

About the Author
Sánchez-Cuenca, Ignacio: - Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca is Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Carlos III-Juan March Institute of Social Sciences at Carlos II University of Madrid. He has published extensively, both in English and Spanish, on political violence, terrorism, European integration, theory of democracy and political behavior.