Nationalist terrorism and political parties: The challenge to liberal democracies.

Abstract

This thesis explores the relationship between terrorist groups and their political counterparts. It finds that changes in world events have allowed terrorist groups to include legitimate political participation as part of their overall strategy. It is proposed that some groups, while not completely abandoning their terrorist activities, come to realize the potential behind legitimate political participation, and adapt accordingly. This not only holds important consequences for the terrorists, but also for the liberal democracies that are host to their actions. Two known terrorist groups are compared--the Irish Republican Army and the Palestinian Liberation Organization--in order to demonstrate how they are evolving towards legitimate political participation. One important realization is that such a move towards legitimacy is not always a unidirectional movement; therefore, groups may waver back and forth from legitimacy to subversion. The implications for liberal democracies are also examined. While these countries have been remarkably resilient in dealing with the terrorist threat, the acceptance to negotiate suggests that some changes have been effected on the host countries' regimes.