Bendle, Merve (2006) Terrorism and thenew left in the 'sixties. National Observer, 71 (Summer). pp. 8-28.

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Abstract

This article explores the convergence of militant Islamist ideology with the radical ideology of the New Left that emerged in the 'Sixties. In particular, it seeks to explain the contemporary support for terrorism expressed by many elements within the Western intelligentsia, which is heir to the New Left. As the September 11, Bali, Madrid, London and other terrorist outrages make clear, the strategic focus of contemporary terrorism is on attacks mounted against targets within civil society designed to maximise civilian deaths and injuries. This terrorist strategy is best termed existential because it seeks to undermine the taken-for-granted sense of ontological security that both underpins everyday life in liberal democratic societies and facilitates their dynamism; and because it is aimed not at forcing concessions from such societies but rather at achieving their extinction. It sees its enemies not as rivals for power within a shared political realm but as intrinsically evil and corrupt forces that have no right to exist and must be eradicated.

Item ID:	49787
Item Type:	Article (Scholarly Work)
Date Deposited:	06 Aug 2017 22:58
FoR Codes:	16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1606 Political Science > 160609 Political Theory and Political Philosophy @ 100%
SEO Codes:	81 DEFENCE > 810199 Defence not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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