| ID | 080342 |
| Title Proper | Dynamics of nationalist terrorism |
| Other Title Information | ETA and the IRA |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Sànchez-Cuenca, Ignacio |
| Publication | 2007. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Nationalist terrorism aspires to independence or greater autonomy for some territory. The combination of territorial claims and armed struggle gives rise to a very definite strategy, violence intended to coerce the State. Nationalist terrorist organizations kill repeatedly with the aim of breaking the will of the State. They engage in a peculiar sort of war of attrition with the State. This paper analyzes comparatively the war of attrition strategy in two organizations, ETA and the IRA. The focus of the paper is on strategy: it examines how ETA and the IRA understood their activity in terms of war of attrition and how they developed their strategy subject to some constraints, such as the moderate preferences of their supporters. I show that popularity constraints account for the high degree of selectivity in their killings. The analysis is based on a combination of historical information, internal documents, and a large data set I have constructed of the killings of these two organizations. |
| `In' analytical Note | Terrorism and Political Violence Vol. 19, No.3; 2007: p289-306 |
| Journal Source | Terrorism and Political Violence Vol. 19, No.3; 2007: p289-306 |
| Key Words | Nationalism ; Target Selection ; Terrorism ; War of Attrition ; Northern Ireland |