ABSTRACT
The most common type of relationship between political parties and terrorism arises when a party or some faction emerging from it becomes the perpetrator of violence. It is often inaccurate to say that parties themselves spin-off terrorist groups which then operate independently. Not uncommonly a party organization itself adopts terrorism as one of several techniques useful in achieving goals. Violence becomes the party’s principal mode of expression in a number of cases, e.g. Peru’s Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso), whose leaders refer to their organization as the Communist Party of Peru.1
