Terrorism And Democratic Stability

Can terrorism and state violence cause democratic breakdowns? Although the origins of violence have been studied, only rarely are its consequences. And even when the consequences of violence are studied, its effects are usually limited to consideration of preexisting conflict that originally spawned the violence. In Terrorism and Democratic Stability, Holmes claims that to understand the consequences of violence on democratic stability, terrorism and state responses to terrorism must be studied together. Her innovative approach identifies citizen support as a key factor in the state's ability to sustain democracy and achieve stability. Her focus is Uruguay, Peru, and Spain.

"Can terrorism and state violence cause democratic breakdowns? Although the origins of violence have been studied, only rarely are its consequences. And even when the consequences of violence are studied, its effects are usually limited to consideration of preexisting conflict that originally spawned the violence. In Terrorism and Democratic Stability, Holmes claims that to understand the consequences of violence on democratic stability, terrorism and state responses to terrorism must be studied together. Her innovative approach identifies citizen support as a key factor in the state's ability to sustain democracy and achieve stability. Her focus is Uruguay, Peru, and Spain."--Provided by publisher.

Can terrorism and state violence cause democratic break- downs? Although the origins of violence have been studied, only rarely are its consequences. And even when the consequences of violence are studied, its effects are usually limited to consideration of preexisting conflict that originally spawned the violence. In Terrorism and Democratic Stability, Jennifer S. Holmes claims that to understand the consequences of violence on democratic stability, terrorism and state responses to terrorism must be studied together.Holmes examines the effects of terrorism and state repression on democratic stability in Uruguay, Peru, and Spain. The result is a detailed empirical study set in these locations, placed within an overall theoretical framework. In Uruguay in 1973, the military closed the national assembly and instituted over a decade of authoritarian rule. In spite of seventy years of prior democracy, Uruguayans did not protest. In Peru in April 1992, Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori dissolved the congress and the judiciary. Eighty percent of Peruvians approved of his self-coup. In Spain, the troubled democracy survived an attempted coup in February 1981. Large demonstrations broke out in major cities in favor of democracy. More than three-quarters of Spaniards rejected the coup and almost half said they would act to defend democracy. Why did Uruguayans and Peruvians withhold support for their democracies? Why did the Spaniards defend theirs? This study, which begins conceptually and then moves on to comparative empirical analysis, adopts an innovative approach, identifying a new concept of citizen support as a key factor in the consequences of terrorism and repression on democratic stability. The study of Spain is set within a European Union context that provides important lessons for other EU countries.This book will be of interest to scholars and students of democratic systems, terrorism, and the philosophy of science.

This study examines the effects of terrorism and state repression on democratic stability in Uruguay, Peru and Spain. It is a detailed empirical study set within an overall theoretical framework.

This timely collection of original essays examines the global link between democratic development and political terrorism, delving into the difficult questions, challenges, far-reaching consequences, and uncertainties of dealing with terrorism on an international scale.

A chilling, up-to-the-minute look at the links between political instability and terrorism in Asia and Africa

As the United States and the countries of Western Europe have sought to promote democratic rule in those parts of the world that have not enjoyed the blessings of liberty, they have failed to consider an important factor. Competitive elections, the sine qua non of democratic government, often gives rise to serious bouts of political violence: mob riots, inter-party fighting, and internal wars. The essays collected in this volume evaluate the relationship between terrorist activity and electoral politics. Do democratic elections themselves undermine the development and stability of the democratic institutions the United States and its allies seek to promote? Under what conditions are democratic elections effective at bringing terrorist organizations into the political process, thereby quelling violence? When and how might terrorist organizations use democratic elections to foment violence? This book was published as a special issue of Terrorism and Political Violence.

Assesses the major trends and developments in terrorism since the Cold War; Evaluates the options open to democratic governments in combating terrorism; Exposes prevalent myths and half-truths surrounding terrorists and 'freedom fighters'; Good reviews expected; Paul Wilkinson is Britains' leading author on terrorism, appearing often on Channel 4 News; In this major new book the author examines both the new terrorist networks and those that have been around for decades. He also provides US with some much needed criteria for distinguishing between terrorists and freedom fighters, and an explanation of the uses of terrorism as a political, social, criminal and religious weapon. Wilkinson also links the use of terrorism to a wider repertoire of struggle, as it is often used as an adjunct to guerrilla warfare or even full-scale conventional military conflict such as in the Russo-Chechen wars. We are warned against the complacent view that worldwide terrorism is in decline. Over 90% of terrorist attacks are purely internal, thus the annual statistics on international terrorism are dangerously misleading. We are not provided with a magic formula for governments to use, each conflict call