ABSTRACT
The brief period of state terrorism exacerbated the situation and partly legitimized the terrorist discourse. It increases the desire for a legal and criminal justice system that would remove all shadow of a doubt concerning the nature of Spain's democracy. This inferiority complex in terms of democracy has been particularly evident in the shaping and functioning of the modern prison system, where the memory of political prisoners and of the abuses committed in jails was still alive. The above accumulation of historic and political factors has played a major role in shaping Spain's anti-terrorist approach. Prison policy as a tool to fight terrorism is considered successful on account of its ability to weaken control by ETA over its incarcerated members and to foster dissent between its leaders and ideologists in jail and those who are not in jail. According to former Justice Minister Juan Fernando Lpez Aguilar, dispersal has been useful to weaken ETA and continues until ETA is definitively defeated.
