2013/01/01 by Tobias Hof, Hof, Tobias · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Akteur #Attentat #Communism, Protests, Social Movements #Geheimdienst #Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics #Italian Fascism and Post-war Society #Italien #Italy #Linksradikalismus #Motiv #Partei #Parteiensystem #Politiker #Rechtsradikalismus #Sicherheit #Sicherheitspolitik #Terrorismus #Terrorismusbekämpfung #attempted assassination #communist party #fight against terrorism #historical analysis #historische Analyse #kommunistische Partei #left-wing radicalism #motive #national security #nationale Sicherheit #party #party system #politician #right-wing radicalism #secret service #security #security policy #social actor #terrorism
paper · pdf · doi:10.12759/hsr.38.2013.1.232-256
openalex publication_date 2013/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Shortly after the left-wing terrorist group Red Brigades kidnapped the former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro in March 1978 numerous conspiracy theories began to spread. At the core of many of these theories was - and still is - the belief that the Red Brigades were controlled by a foreign power. The headquarters of Italian left-wing terrorism was suspected everywhere but home. In the following article the author describes the evolution and the different bearers of these theories and addresses their functional character by analyzing possible motives for injecting them into the public discourse. He shows how different groups from the far left to the far right of the political spectrum used conspiracy theories to de-legitimize the political Opponent or legitimize their own policy in relation to the Moro abduction. The Moro murder case shines the clearest light on the triad of terrorism - conspiracy -and anti-terrorism policy in Italy in the late 1970s.