Terrorism and Democratic Stability Revisited

Can terrorism and state violence cause democratic breakdown? Although the origins of violence have been studied, only rarely are its consequences examined. In this detailed comparative study of Uruguay, Spain, and Peru, Holmes claims that to understand the consequences of violence on democratic stability, terrorism and state responses to terrorism must be studied together. This extensively revised and expanded second edition takes advantage of new historical sources, an extended time span, and new theories that have emerged since the original publication. In addition to adding new data sources in the Peruvian and Spanish cases, the time period covered has been expanded from the late 1990s to early 2007, allowing a more comprehensive treatment of the consequences of state and non-state violence on democratic stability and the prospects for stability.The literature reviews have been significantly revised and updated and an entirely new chapter covers the special case of Spain, which faces both a domestic and an international threat. The study adopts an innovative approach derived from Aristotle’s political philosophy and contemporary proponents of his work to identify a new concept of citizen support in order to understand the consequences of terrorism and repression on democratic stability. It examines the lessons learned from cases of domestic terrorism in Uruguay, Spain and Peru and asks how they can be applied to discussions of international terrorism. How can general principles of maintaining support based on providing security and maintaining integration guide decision making in democracies facing international threats?