Terrorists on Trial

A Performative Perspective
Erscheinungsjahr 2016
ISBN: 978-90-8728-240-0
Verlag: Leiden University Press

Buch, Englisch, 602 Seiten, Format (B × H): 237 mm x 158 mm, Gewicht: 890 g

"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."

Autoren/Hrsg.

de Graaf, Beatrice

Schmid, Alex

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Gewalt Terrorismus, Religiöser Fundamentalismus
• Rechtswissenschaften Strafrecht

Inhaltsverzeichnis

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

Über Autor(innen)

de Graaf, Beatrice
Beatrice de Graaf holds one of the Chairs of the Dutch National Research Agenda. She holds the Chair of History of International Relations & Global Governance at Utrecht University, within the strategic theme Institutions (since February 2014).

Schmid, Alex
Alex P. Schmid is an historian by training. He was Officer-in-Charge of the Terrorism Prevention Branch of UNODC and held a chair in International Relations at the University of St. Andrews. Currently he is Editor-in-Chief of Perspectives on Terrorism and Research Fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism in The Hague.