Utilization of Terrorism in 20th Century Europe - Coursework Example

Introduction Terrorism has been a critical issue in 20th century Europe. A continent with many distinct cultural backgrounds and diverse political ideologies, Europe is a region of many differences and has been a potential hotspot for terrorist activities within and from outside. This brings the statement that utilization of terrorism in 20th century Europe is mainly caused by differing cultural and political ideologies by various ethnic and ideological groups. This paper will explore the development of terrorism in 20th century Europe along the lines of a brief history and description of events. This covers the terrorist groups and activities originating from within the European continent, and also the involvement of terrorist organizations and activities from outside Europe. The paper also will also discuss how terrorism operates in both method and rationale, such as going over examples of their various modus operandi and goals. There will also be discussion of the foreign support and involvement of other countries to these groups, whether within or outside Europe, and their alleged agendas or reasons for doing so. At the tail end of this paper, there will be theoretical recommendations or applications in dealing with the issue of terrorism in Europe. As such, possible practical scenarios could be given as examples based from the analysis of the research made for this paper. Insight can also be given as a personal output in reference to the information studied for this research. Utilization of Terrorism in 20th Century Europe Before discussing the various terrorist acts in 20th century Europe, it should first be understood what terrorism is and how one is defined as a terrorist. Usually, an individual is considered a terrorist if he or she has political goals or beliefs that are strong motivations to commit acts of violence against their enemies, regardless if done on non-combatants. It can be said then that terrorism is an act of violence made against non-combatants or civilians for the purpose of waging a psychological warfare of fear. This can be in the form of indiscriminate bombings, assassinations, and sabotage in highly populated civilian areas. These actions are done for a politically or culturally motivated goal and made aware through violent and fearful acts. Modern European history has many incidents and episodes of violent terrorist acts. Perhaps one of the most well known would be the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife by a Serbian nationalist radical by the name of Gavrilo Princip. The attack was motivated by an individual inflamed with nationalistic pride as his country of Serbia was under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This became the pretext for World War I. Terrorism due to nationalistic sentiments grew even further in the 20th century as the aftermath of the Second World War and entry of the Cold War ignited a sense of pride from various ethnic groups. As Den Boer (2003) stated, “the EU TE-SAT report on terrorist activity in the European Union reports that domestic (as opposed to international) terrorism continues in certain EU countries” (p.3). Domestic terrorism is given more attention than international terrorism because it is considered a big threat that is closer to home. It does not make it any better for many European governments that there are numerous domestic terrorist organizations in existence in which some are closely cooperating with each other. Some of these terrorist organizations are, as Wilkinson (2005) described, “the extreme nationalists, autonomists and separatists who claim that their main aim is self-determination” (p.11). An example of such groups would be the Euskadi Ta Askatasuna or ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom) in Spain and the Chechen Separatists in Russia. Both these groups have had a track record and history of terrorist acts for the sake of political autonomy. The ETA was formed for the sole purpose of giving the Basque people territorial autonomy from Spanish control. Conversely, the Chechen Separatists were organized to fight the Russians in order to give their region of Chechnya its independence. The ETA had its roots since 1959. The Basque people were historically considered a different ethnic group that had its own language and cultural heritage within Spanish territory. Efforts of the Basque people for nationalization was met with resistance from Spanish authorities for decades, the most difficult obstacle happening during the Fascist rule of Francisco Franco. Originally, the ETA started as a political nationalist group and awareness movement to legitimize the opportunity and reality of a free Basque state. However, due to the continued intransigence of Spanish authorities, the ETA itself turned toward armed terrorist actions to further their objective for a free state. The primary targets of ETA are usually any group or individual associated with the Spanish government. There were already cases of Spanish policemen being ambushed and killed by ETA armed members, as well as some Spanish government officials. It is not part of the ETA’s methods to take hostages as they prefer killing their target instead. The reason behind this is that taking a hostage would risk their safety further. This also is the general mode of operation for other internal terrorist organizations working in Europe. In Russia, Chechen Separatists are both guerillas and terrorists. They began during and after the Russian-Chechen Wars. Their prime objective is to make Chechnya its own independent republic after Russia became a democratic federation. Since the Russian government did not allow this, the Chechens rebelled against the Russian government. Initial resistance by the Chechen Separatists was done through heavy guerilla fighting against regular Russian military forces in their region. The First Chechen War proved costly to both sides as fresh and ill-trained Russian soldiers fought against Chechen guerillas who were mostly Soviet war veterans. When the Russians managed to break Chechen resistance at their capital of Grozny, Chechen resistance was reduced and eventually developed terrorist groups and tactics. The Second Chechen War led to the development in the operations of Chechen radical militant groups. Perhaps one of the deadliest of these acts was the Beslan School Massacre. Snetkov (2007) said that, “on 1 September 2004, 38 armed rebels entered School Number One during an assembly celebrating the new academic year and held 1,200 hostages, including teachers, pupils, parents, siblings, relatives and friends, in a small school gymnasium, and mined the school building” (p.1352). The whole gymnasium was rigged to explode if Russia attempts to rescue the hostages inside. The outcome of this terrorist attack was horrific, as many children were killed when the Chechen hostage takers reacted violently to what they thought was a Russian attack. Another deadly incident was when the Chechen Separatists held Russian civilians hostage in the Moscow Dubrovka Theater two years prior to the Beslan School Massacre. It was because of these attacks that Chechen militant groups were deemed as dangerous terrorist organizations as they have developed links with the terrorist network of Al-Qaeda. Other terrorist groups in Europe are extremely ideologically motivated. There are a surprising number of terrorist organizations from certain European countries that are not expected to have such groups operating within their premises. One example of such countries was West Germany. There are various reasons why this developed. One is that after the Second World War many government and civil agencies were established in West Germany to repress centralized authority and decentralize governmental functions. It should also be remembered that Cold War was being waged, and Germany was divided between the democratic West and the communist East. This led to the development of radical left wing groups inside West Germany, which waged a war on terror against West German civil authorities, and were also in service of foreign terrorist organizations. Their objectives are the espousing of left wing political ideologies, such as increased attention and support for worker or labor class organizations. Among these groups, the most well known in West Germany are the Baader-Meinhoff Gang, the 2 June Movement, the Revolutionary Cells, and the Socialist Lawyer’s Collective. These different groups have the same political agenda, but have different modus operandi. A study made by Chapman R.D and Chapman M.L (1980) indicated that, “an analysis of Baader-Meinhoff reveals that the modus operandi lacked sophistication which, instead, developed along the lines of blitzkrieg: lightning attacks accompanied by heavy firepower” (p.78). The other group, the 2 June Movement, worked in a similar fashion as the Baader-Meinhoff Gang by acting “bluntly and directly in their application of terror” (Chapman R.D and Chapman M.L, 1980, p.78). However, the difference is that the Baader-Meinhoff Gang actually plans as much as they could for their operations, while the 2 June Movement performs their tasks unregimented. In the case of the Revolutionary Cells, they are a well-organized terrorist group with another mode of operation. The Revolutionary Cells usually works in tandem or performs combined operations with other internal, or even international, terrorist organizations. This was seen as both an advantage and disadvantage for the Revolutionary Cells group. On the good side, members of the Revolutionary Cells group are able to train outside Germany and receive outside support. However, this meant that members of the Revolutionary Cells are obliged to participate in operations of international terrorist groups that support them. Usually, the group found sanctuary and training from Palestinian terrorist organizations based in the Middle East. Lastly, the Socialist Lawyer’s Collective was a conclave of left leaning lawyers who would give support to other internal terrorist organizations, and also would find recruits into their organizations. At the same time, the Socialist Lawyer’s Collective planned operations, carried messages and armaments inside prisons where some members of other terrorist groups were being confined. This terrorist organization acted more as a planning and logistic group while not directly participating in any violent acts of terrorism. Instead, the Socialist Lawyer’s Collective would provide the means for other German terrorist groups to commit acts of terror. It was because of this organization that other German leftist terrorist groups were clandestinely provided with weapons, equipment, planning, information, and funding. This would make the Socialist Lawyer’s Collective a dangerous organization due to its ability to provide the means for terrorists to do their activities. While many internal or domestic terrorist organizations have been disbanded, there are also terror groups sanctioned by the state and are formed and authorized to commit violent acts of terrorism under the state’s orders. While not easily identified as the typical terrorist groups in 20th century Europe, some of these organizations performed horrific and violent actions on non-combatants in a very indiscriminate manner. In recent history, the Nazi German Waffen SS units were supposedly military units, but committed acts of terror against the Jews and Slavic people. During the Bosnian War, Serbian paramilitary forces participated in ethnic cleansing missions against the Bosnians and other Balkan ethnic groups. Many measures have been developed and done to deal with the problems of terrorism within Europe. Like all combat strategies, counter-terrorist methods were learned through early painful and rather tragic experiences. European counter-terrorism became a critical and paramount matter after the 1972 Munich Olympic Massacre, which led to the deaths of all the participating Israeli athletes at the hands of Palestinian terrorists of the Black September Movement. What happened afterwards was the intense and increased development for a specialized counter-terrorist doctrine and organization. Earlier plans were made, prior to the incident in Munich, in developing a counter-revolutionary force. Ganser (2005) observed that, “after World War Two, the idea to create secret armies was based on the fear of a communist invasion and occupation, or the take over of power by the Communist parties in Western Europe” (p.70). Eventually, these secret armies served as the models for future counter-terrorist forces. It was only after the Munich Massacre that matters were taken to greater urgency. This development stemmed many internal terrorist groups to be caught, disbanded or utterly destroyed. Many terrorists were either arrested or killed as law enforcement and state security agencies became better trained and equipped to deal with terrorists. The creation of dedicated counter-terrorist force units, such as the British SAS, German GSG-9, Russian SPETSNAZ Alpha and the French GIGN, prevented terrorist groups from operating effectively. Captured terrorists were also forced to face torture to reveal information about their group’s operations. All these developments would lead to the eventual dissolution of many internal terrorist groups and international terrorist operations in Europe. Conclusion To reiterate, terrorism in 20th century is caused by the different political and cultural ideologies that were present during that time. In the end, however, these terrorist organizations were doomed to failure despite their strong belief to their causes. It was ironic that their fanatical devotion to their goals never made them realize the shortcomings of their methods. While many of these terrorist groups were largely revolutionary or nationalistic in their stand, their modus operandi had the terrible setback of not gaining any popular support. The violent attacks on civilians and damage to property were suppose to instill fear toward civilian populations and espouse hatred among them. The result was contrary to that effect. While fear and hatred were the initial response of the government and civilian populations, it was in the form of disgust and repulsion toward terrorist organizations and their supporters. Instead of receiving support from the population in general, radical revolutionary and nationalistic groups are being alienated from the public. Also, they are more isolated and vulnerable against state security. In addition, civilian populations would eventually come to realize that begetting violence with violence will only make matters worse. A good example would be the happenings during the aftermath of the Beslan School Massacre in 2004. Javeline and Baird (2004) noted: Only days after the siege, Beslan residents were already on their way to becoming political and civic activists. The Mothers of Beslan committee was formed and began organizing and advocating. Beslan teachers established www.beslan.ru, mostly for humanitarian reasons, such as soliciting donations for victims and relatives, but also to maintain a news archive on the aftermath of the siege. This act of peaceful solidarity proved that terrorism in 20th century Europe failed to bring the whole continent into a chaotic upheaval. References Chapman, R.D and M.L. (1980). The crimson web of terror. Colorado: Paladin Press. Den Boer, Monica. (2003). 9/11 and the europeanisation of anti-terrorism policy: A critical assessment. Paris: Notre Europe. Ganser, Daniele. (2005). Terrorism in Western Europe: An approach to NATO’s secret stay-behind armies. Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, 6(1), 69-95. Javeline, D. and Baird, V.A. (2004). The surprisingly nonviolent aftermath of the beslan school hostage taking. Problems of Post-Communism, 58(4-5), 3-22. Snetkov, Aglaya. (2007). The image of the terrorist threat in the official russian press: The moscow theatre crisis (2002) and the beslan hostage crisis (2004). Europe-Asia Studies, 59(8), 1349-1365. Wilkinson, Paul (2005). International terrorism: The changing threat and the EU’s response. Conde-sur-Noireau: EU Institute for Security Studies. Read More