Full Description
"Terrorism trials are an exceptional opportunity for better understanding and, hence, countering terrorism, since they are often the only place where most if not all of the actors of a terrorist incident meet again, and where the media report and broadcast their respective accounts. A nexus between terrorist violence, law enforcement and public opinion, terrorism trials showcase justice in progress and thus demonstrate to the world how terrorism suspects are treated under national law. This volume views terrorism trials as a form of theatre, where the "show" that a trial may offer can develop often unexpected dynamics, which at times might inconvenience the government. Seeing terrorism trials as a stage where legal instruments are used (and abused) to argue the validity of contested political constructs, this study presents a performative perspective to draw attention to the mechanisms and effects of terrorism trials in and outside the courtroom. With a special focus on how the power of these performances may in turn shape new narratives of justice and/or injustice, it offers vital insights into terrorism trials directed involving different types of terrorism suspects, from left-wing to ethno-nationalist and jihadist terrorists, in Spain, Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States."
Contents
Table of Contents
Tables and Figures
1. Introduction: a Performative Perspective on Terrorism Trials (Beatrice de Graaf, in cooperation with Liesbeth van der Heide)
2. Terrorism, Political Crime and Political Justice Alex P. Schmid
3. The Trial of Vera Zasulich in 1878 Alex P. Schmid
4. Stalin's 1936 Show Trial against the 'Trotzkyite-Zinovievite Terrorist Centre' Alex P. Schmid
5. 'Is There any Justice Left in this Country?' The IRA on Trial in the 1970s Joost Augusteijn
6. Germany Confronts the Baader-Meinhof Group. The Stammheim Trial (1975-1977) and its Legacies
Jacco Pekelder and Klaus Weinhauer
7. National Security on Trial: The Case of Zacarias Moussaoui, 2001-2006
Geert-Jan Knoops
8. Guantanamo as Theatre: Military Commissions and Performance in the Court of Public Opinion, 2003-2004
Fred L. Borch
9. The Hofstad Group on Trial: Sentencing the Terrorist Risk, 2005-2014 7 Beatrice de Graaf
10. Supporting Prisoners or Supporting Terrorists: The 2008 Trial of Gestoras Pro Amnistía in SpainCarolijn Terwindt
11. Performing Justice, Coping with Trauma: The Trial of Anders Breivik, 2012 Tore Bjørgo, Beatrice de Graaf, Liesbeth van der Heide, Cato Hemmingby and Daan Weggemans
12. Conclusion
Beatrice de Graaf
Literature on Terrorism Trials - a Selective Bibliography
Notes on contributors
Index
Table of Figures
