ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book opens with a biographical sketch of Aldo Moro designed to situate his death within the wider context of his political career. It presents important position statements by two scholars who have already made a significant contribution to the understanding of the social and political mechanisms underlying Moro's targeting and death. The book provides close readings of writings and statements by the hostage and the perpetrators, paying particular attention to linguistic and rhetorical strategies that characterize their respective discourses. It considers how discussion of Moro's death is habitually shrouded in figures of speech employed to neutralise or distance its brutal violence. The book deals with Giuseppina Mecchia's exploration of philosophical understandings of the Moro kidnap. It focuses on Jean Baudrillard's and Leonardo Sciascia's critique of the events and their implication for the cultural dynamics of postmodern politics.