What are the differences and similarities between political violence in the past and present?
Sociologist Chares Demetriou, who conducts research on political violence, argues that the attacks committed on behalf of ISIS or Al Qaida in recent years differs from other political violence on a few accounts. “Unlike previous acts of violence in the 20th century, here there’s no clear organisation behind it; there’s no leader who specifically orders the attack. Another difference is that the perpetrators don’t have any demands that can be met in order to put an end to the violence.”
Is this unique to Islamic perpetrators? “Not really, you can draw parallels to anarchists in the early 1900s. Their goal was to create a society without rulers and state power. Even if this could be considered a demand, it would be very difficult to give in to. Islamic perpetrators today create a much bigger impact compared to the anarchists, even if the latter were a lot more numerous. Social media create completely different conditions for visibility and networking.”
You have conducted research on the Irish IRA and the Cypriot EUOKA. These were preceded by peaceful political movements. Does this also apply to today’s movements that resort to violence? “The Salafi movement, which is behind many acts of violence today, was originally a peaceful movement, seeking to return to the early Muslims’ way of living. But many violent extremists groups like ISIS, Al Qaida and Boko Haram have their roots in that movement.”
How does the peaceful branch of the movement interact with the violent branch? “I haven’t researched the link between the peaceful branch of the Salafi movement and Salafi-jihadist perpetrators. But in my research on other movements, I found that it is important to understand the interaction between the perpetrators and their followers, that is, their fans. For example, in the Cypriot EUOKA movement, I found a close connection to a nationalist movement, and the perpetrators made sure they maintained this support. The Red Brigades in Italy were initially supported by parts of the Italian political left, but eventually it disappeared. This had the effect that the perpetrators became isolated and began to lose sight of what had been their initial goal. Their attacks went from targeting the police, military and politicians to also affect civilians.”
You speak of the perpetrators’ followers – who are they? “Their followers or fans could be divided into different groups. One group consists of the Salafists in the Arab world and, to this group, the perpetrators want to show that they are taking revenge on the West’s violence or intrusion in the Middle East. Another group consists of their supporters in social media, and a third group could be Muslims in the West who are to be deterred from becoming an integrated part of Western society.”
You choose not to use the word terrorism – why? “It’s a very politically charged word and difficult to use in research as there is no good definition. Therefore, it’s better to talk about political violence.”
Text: Ulrika Oredsson Photo: Flowers in memory of the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris 2015 Published: 3 May 2017
