Communist terrorism: Difference between revisions
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==Usage of the term== |
==Usage of the term== |
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In 1917 after the [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]] one of the main features of the new communist regime was the use of terrorism to subdue the populace, the use of terrorism has been described as "evident in the regimes very origins" by historian [[Anna Geifman]]. Historian W. J. Stankiewicz has also stated <blockquote> |
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"The USSR’s resort to terrorism signalized an abandonment of the long-standing fiction |
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that Communism is part of the movement of ‘history’; that in order to win, it does not |
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need any special measures. When terrorism is defined as ‘active measures’ that can and |
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‘ought’ to be part of the policy of a Communist State, we see a shift to a frank acceptance |
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by Communist ideologues that their system is based on power not reason or the forces of |
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history".<ref name="W. J. Stankiewicz">W. J. Stankiewicz page 225</ref></blockquote>[[Vladimir Lenin]] stated that his “Jacobian party would never reject terror, nor could it do so", and that they used the [[Jacobin Club|Jacobian]] [[Reign of Terror]] of 1793-1794 as a model for their own [[Red Terror]].<ref name="Marcus C. Levitt 1">Marcus C. Levitt page 152-153</ref> [[Felix Dzerzhinsky]] founder of the [[Cheka]] used terrorist actions against all classes of people, though the peasants were heavily targeted due to their refusal to give excessive amounts of grain to the government. <ref name="Richard W. Mansbach 1">Richard W. Mansbach page 336</ref> Upon founding the [[New Economic Policy]](NEP) Lenin stated, "It is a mistake to think the NEP has put an end to terrorism. We shall return to terrorism, and it will be an economic terrorism" One such result of this type of terrorism was the [[Holodomor]], in which an estimated four to ten million people starved to death. <ref name="David Schmidtz">David Schmidtz page 191</ref> |
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Also described as an act of communist terrorism by historian Robert G. Moeller was the deaths of an estimated one million Prisoners of war at the hands of the Soviet regime. They had been used as slave labour and worked to death.<ref name="Robert G. Moeller">Moeller page 33</ref> |
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In the 1930`s the term was used by the [[Nazi Party]] in Germany as part of a propaganda effort to create fear of communism. The Nazi`s blamed communist terrorism for the [[Reichstag Fire]] and used this as an excuse to push through legislation which removed personal freedom from all citizens.<ref name="Conway John S.">Conway p17</ref><ref name="Gadberry, Glen W.">Gadberry p7</ref> In 1948, an anti-colonial [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla war]] (known as "[[Malayan emergency]]") started between [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] armed forces and the [[Malayan Races Liberation Army|Malayan National Liberation Army]] . Since the insurgents were lead by the [[Malayan Communist Party]], their actions were labeled as "Communist terrorism" by British propaganda<ref>Phillip Deery. The Terminology of Terrorism: Malaya, 1948–52. ''Journal of Southeast Asia Studies'', Vol. 34, No. 2 (June 2003), pp. 231–247.</ref> to deny the partisans' political legitimacy and to locate the Malayan Emergency in a broader context of the Cold War.<ref>Anthony J. Stockwell, A widespread and long-concocted plot to overthrow government in Malaya? The origins of the Malayan Emergency. ''Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History'', 21, 3 (1993): 79-80.</ref> Later, this term has been applied by the US administration to the actions of Communist partisans during [[Vietnam war]] to affect both the domestic and South Vietnamese public opinion and to justify the actions of the US army as "counterterrorist" measures.<ref>Carol Winkler. In the name of terrorism: presidents on political violence in the post-World War II era. SUNY Press, 2006, ISBN 0791466175, 9780791466179, p.29-35. </ref> |
In the 1930`s the term was used by the [[Nazi Party]] in Germany as part of a propaganda effort to create fear of communism. The Nazi`s blamed communist terrorism for the [[Reichstag Fire]] and used this as an excuse to push through legislation which removed personal freedom from all citizens.<ref name="Conway John S.">Conway p17</ref><ref name="Gadberry, Glen W.">Gadberry p7</ref> In 1948, an anti-colonial [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla war]] (known as "[[Malayan emergency]]") started between [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] armed forces and the [[Malayan Races Liberation Army|Malayan National Liberation Army]] . Since the insurgents were lead by the [[Malayan Communist Party]], their actions were labeled as "Communist terrorism" by British propaganda<ref>Phillip Deery. The Terminology of Terrorism: Malaya, 1948–52. ''Journal of Southeast Asia Studies'', Vol. 34, No. 2 (June 2003), pp. 231–247.</ref> to deny the partisans' political legitimacy and to locate the Malayan Emergency in a broader context of the Cold War.<ref>Anthony J. Stockwell, A widespread and long-concocted plot to overthrow government in Malaya? The origins of the Malayan Emergency. ''Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History'', 21, 3 (1993): 79-80.</ref> Later, this term has been applied by the US administration to the actions of Communist partisans during [[Vietnam war]] to affect both the domestic and South Vietnamese public opinion and to justify the actions of the US army as "counterterrorist" measures.<ref>Carol Winkler. In the name of terrorism: presidents on political violence in the post-World War II era. SUNY Press, 2006, ISBN 0791466175, 9780791466179, p.29-35. </ref> |
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* Paoletti, Ciro (30 December 2007). A military history of Italy. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 978-0275985059. |
* Paoletti, Ciro (30 December 2007). A military history of Italy. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 978-0275985059. |
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* Harmon, Christopher C. ''Terrorism Today'' Routledge 2nd edition. 18 Octtober 2007. ISBN 978-0415773003 |
* Harmon, Christopher C. ''Terrorism Today'' Routledge 2nd edition. 18 Octtober 2007. ISBN 978-0415773003 |
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*W. J. Stankiewicz. ''In Search of a Political Philosophy: Ideologies at the Close of the Twentieth Century.'' 7 January 1993. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415088749 |
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*Marcus C. Levitt, Tatyana Novikov. ''Times of trouble: violence in Russian literature and culture.'' 1st edition. [[University of Wisconsin Press]] 15 Dec 2007. ISBN 978-0299224301 |
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*Richard W. Mansbach, Kirsten L. Rafferty. ''Introduction to Global Politics.'' Routledge. annotated edition. 6 Sep 2007. ISBN 978-0415773836 |
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*David Schmidtz, Jason Brennan. ''A Brief History of Liberty (Brief Histories of Philosophy).'' [[Wiley-Blackwell]] 22 January 2010. ISBN 978-1405170796 |
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== Further reading == |
== Further reading == |
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Revision as of 00:36, 17 March 2011
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Communist terrorism is the term which has been used to describe acts of violence committed by groups who subscribe to a Marxist/Leninist or Maoist ideology. These groups hope that through these actions they will inspire the the masses to rise up and overthrow the existing political and economic system.[1] In recent years, there has been a marked decrease in such terrorism, which has been substantially credited to the end of the Cold War and the fall of the U.S.S.R.[2] However, at its apogee, communism was argued by some to be the major source of international terrorism (whether inspired by the ideology or supported by its states).[3]
Usage of the term
In the 1930`s the term was used by the Nazi Party in Germany as part of a propaganda effort to create fear of communism. The Nazi`s blamed communist terrorism for the Reichstag Fire and used this as an excuse to push through legislation which removed personal freedom from all citizens.[4][5] In 1948, an anti-colonial guerrilla war (known as "Malayan emergency") started between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army . Since the insurgents were lead by the Malayan Communist Party, their actions were labeled as "Communist terrorism" by British propaganda[6] to deny the partisans' political legitimacy and to locate the Malayan Emergency in a broader context of the Cold War.[7] Later, this term has been applied by the US administration to the actions of Communist partisans during Vietnam war to affect both the domestic and South Vietnamese public opinion and to justify the actions of the US army as "counterterrorist" measures.[8]
In the late 1960`s in Europe, Japan and in both north and South America various terrorist organizations began operations. These groups, usually referred to as left-wing terrorists,[9][10] "leftist terrorists",[11][12] "Communist terrorists", the Fighting Communist Organizations (FCO),[13][14] or "Euroterrorists" (the latter term has been applied to European terrorists only),[15] rose out of the student union movement which was at that time protesting against the Vietnam War.[16][17] As a rule, these groups were committed to the radical New Left ideologies[17] and their strategic goals were poorly articulated.[17] The founders of some of these organisations, e.g. Red Brigades, were ex-Communists who were expelled from their parent parties for extremism.[18][neutrality is disputed] Some national-separatist terrorist movements, such as ETA or IRA also used Marxist rhetoric initially.[19] In the 1970`s there were an estimated 50 such groups operating in Turkey and an estimated 225 in Italy.[citation needed] Groups also began operations in Ireland and Great Britain.[20] These groups were seen as a major threat by NATO and also by the Italian, German and British governments;[21] they were also condemned by parliamentary Communist parties.[22]
See also
References
- ^ C. J. M. Drake page 19
- ^ David C. Wills page 219
- ^ Brian Crozier page 203
- ^ Conway p17
- ^ Gadberry p7
- ^ Phillip Deery. The Terminology of Terrorism: Malaya, 1948–52. Journal of Southeast Asia Studies, Vol. 34, No. 2 (June 2003), pp. 231–247.
- ^ Anthony J. Stockwell, A widespread and long-concocted plot to overthrow government in Malaya? The origins of the Malayan Emergency. Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 21, 3 (1993): 79-80.
- ^ Carol Winkler. In the name of terrorism: presidents on political violence in the post-World War II era. SUNY Press, 2006, ISBN 0791466175, 9780791466179, p.29-35.
- ^ William F. Shughart II. An analytical history of terrorism, 1945–2000. Public Choice (2006) 128:7–39.
- ^ Tim Krieger and Daniel Meierrieks, Terrorism in the Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Journal of Conflict Resolution 2010 54: 902
- ^ Christopher K. Robison, Edward M. Crenshaw, J. Craig Jenkins. Ideologies of Violence: The Social Origins of Islamist and Leftist Transnational Terrorism. Social Forces 84.4 (2006) 2009-2026.
- ^ Kevin Siqueira and Todd Sandler. Terrorists versus the Government: Strategic Interaction, Support, and Sponsorship. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 50, No. 6 (Dec., 2006), pp. 878-898
- ^ Alexander p16
- ^ Harmon p13
- ^ Harmon p58
- ^ Cronin, Audrey. Behind the Curve Globalization and International Terrorism. International Security, Volume 27, Number 3, Winter 2002/03, pp. 30-58
- ^ a b c Peter Chalk. The Response to Terrorism as a Threat to Liberal Democracy. Australian Journal of Politics and History: Volume 44, Number 3, 1998, pp. 373-88.
- ^ A Jamieson. Identity and morality in the Italian Red Brigades. Terrorism and Political Violence, 1990, p. 508-15
- ^ Cristopher Fettweis argued: "The IRA may have employed Marxist ideological rhetoric during the 1960s, for instance, but it is absurd to suggest that it (or any of its more-radical off-shoots, like the Irish National Liberation Army) was first and foremost a Marxist group." (Cristopher Fettweis. Freedom Fighters and Zealots: Al Qaeda in Historical Perspective. Political Science Quarterly; Summer2009, Vol. 124 Issue 2, p 269-296.)
- ^ Alexander pp51-52
- ^ Paoletti p202
- ^ Richard Drake. Terrorism and the Decline of Italian Communism: Domestic and International Dimensions. Journal of Cold War Studies, Volume 12, Number 2, Spring 2010 1531-3298
Bibliography
- C. J. M. Drake. Terrorists' target selection. Palgrave Macmillan. 5 February 2003. ISBN 978-0312211974
- David C. Wills. The First War on Terrorism: Counter-terrorism Policy During the Reagan Administration. Rowman & Littlefield 28 August 2003. ISBN 978-0742531291
- Brian Crozier. Political victory: the elusive prize of military wars. Transaction Publishers 31 May 2005. ISBN 978-0765802903
- Conway John S.The Nazi Persecution of the Churches, 1933-1945 Regent College Publishing. 1 April 2001. ISBN 978-1573830805
- Gadberry, Glen W. Theatre in the Third Reich, the prewar years: essays on theatre in Nazi Germany Greenwood. 30 March 1995. ISBN 978-0313295164
- Weinberg, Leonard. Political parties and terrorist groups. 2nd Revised Edition. 6 November 2008. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415775366
- Enders Walter. Sandler Todd. The political economy of terrorism November 14 2005. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521851008
- Alexander Yonah. Europe's red terrorists: the fighting communist organizations. October 1, 1992. Routledge. ISBN 978-0714634883
- Paoletti, Ciro (30 December 2007). A military history of Italy. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 978-0275985059.
- Harmon, Christopher C. Terrorism Today Routledge 2nd edition. 18 Octtober 2007. ISBN 978-0415773003
Further reading
- Deletant, Dennis (1999) Communist Terror in Romania, C. Hurst & Co, ISBN 1850653860
- Adelman, Jonathan (1984) Terror and Communist Politics: The Role of the Secret Police in Communist States, Westview Press, ISBN 0865312931
- Evgeni Genchev (2003) Tales from the Dark: Testimonies about the Communist Terror, ACET 2003, ISBN 9549320014