ABSTRACT

This book examines a wide array of phenomena that arguably constitute the most noxious, extreme, terrifying, murderous, secretive, authoritarian, and/or anti-democratic aspects of national and international politics. Scholars should not ignore these "dark sides" of politics, however unpleasant they may be, since they influence the world in a multitude of harmful ways.

The first volume in this two-volume collection focuses on the history of underground neo-fascist networks in the post-World War II era; neo-fascist paramilitary and terrorist groups operating in Europe and Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s; and the manipulation of those and other terrorist organizations by the security forces of various states, both authoritarian and democratic. A range of global case studies are included, all of which focus on the lesser known activities of certain secular extremist milieus.

This collection should prove to be essential reading for students and researchers interested in understanding seemingly arcane but nonetheless important dimensions of recent historical and contemporary politics.

chapter 1|45 pages

Introduction

Ideologies, extremist ideologies, and terrorist violence

chapter 2|14 pages

Political Paranoia versus Political Realism

On distinguishing between bogus conspiracy theories and genuine conspiratorial politics 1

chapter 3|76 pages

Postwar Neo-Fascist Internationals, Part 1

Nazi escape networks, the Mouvement Social Européenne, Europäische Neu-Ordnung, and Jeune Europe

chapter 4|76 pages

Postwar “Neo-Fascist” Internationals, Part 2

Aginter Presse and the “strategy of tension” in Italy

chapter 6|35 pages

The May 1973 Terrorist Attack at Milan Police HQ

Anarchist ‘propaganda of the deed’ or ‘false-flag’ provocation? 1

chapter 9|25 pages

‘National Revolutionary’ Groupuscules and the Resurgence of ‘Left-Wing’ Fascism

The case of France’s Nouvelle Résistance 1