Full Description
This book offers a multidimensional and multidisciplinary comparative analysis of the phenomenon of political violence and terrorism in contemporary Portugal.
Portugal is commonly considered to be a country of "mild customs and traditions". However, does this perception correspond to factual reality? This book intends to demonstrate that the vision of Portugal as a "mild-mannered" country is a rhetorical construction and that Portugal was and continues to be a crucible of violent extremism. Drawing on historical evidence and a four-phase analytical framework, the book demonstrates that Portugal has experienced persistent forms of radicalisation, violent extremism and terrorism since 1974, though often reframed or obscured within national narratives. The volume traces the evolution of these phenomena from the revolutionary and counter-revolutionary violence of the post-Carnation Revolution period, through the identity-based and racist infra-political extremism of the 1990s, to the metapolitical and transnational dynamics of jihadist and far-right movements in the early 2000s, culminating in the hybrid and digitally driven forms of extremism evident since the mid-2010s.
This book will be of much interest to students of political violence, extremism, European history and International Relations.
Contents
1. Radicalisation, Violent Extremism and Terrorism in Portugal: Continuities and Transformations since 1974, Felipe Pathé Duarte Part I: Post-Revolutionary Turbulence and Ideological Violence (1974-Early 1990s) 2. The PRP in the April Revolution: "Unite, Organise, Arm: The Revolution Will Triumph", Ana Sofia Ferreira 3. The Clandestine and Armed Counter-revolution in the Portuguese Transition: The Case of Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Portugal (1975-1976), Riccardo Marchi 4. Popular Forces 25th of April: A Late and Lingering Phenomenon, Nuno Gonçalo Poças Part II: Infrapolitical Violence in the Post-Cold War World 5. Featuring Terrorism and Criminal Extremism in Portugal, a Half-Century after The Carnation Revolution: An Overview of Ideologically Inspired Crime, João Paulo Ventura 6. The Fall-back Neighbor: ETA and Portugal from the Late 1960s to the Dawn of the 21st Century, Diogo Noivo and Gaizka Fernández Soldevilla 7. The Violent Far-Right Movements in Portugal in the Established Democracy Period, Cátia Moreia de Carvalho 8. Mobilizing Anger in Portugal: When Political Extremists Protest, David Pimenta Part III: Globalisation and "metapolitical" Violent Extremism 9. The Portuguese Jihad Recruiters, Hugo Franco 10. The Evolution of the Terrorism Threat in Portugal, 2001-2023, Joana Araújo Lopes 11. From Converts to Combatants: Social Networks, Relative Deprivation, and the Radicalization of Portuguese Foreign Fighters, Mária do Céu Pinto Arena 12. Draining the Swamp: The Military Prevention of Violent Extremism, Nuno Lemos Pires and Joana Gomes Part IV: Looking Ahead and the Shape of What is to Come 13. Global Conflicts and Domestic Extremism: The Portuguese Extreme Right in the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict, Leonor Pinheiro and Raquel Silva 14. Cyberterrorism or Cybercrime: Understanding Intent and Motive in a Portuguese Case Study, Pedro Xavier Mendonça 15. Final Remarks: Beyond the Mild Myth - Portugal's Radical Horizon, José Pedro Zúquete
