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THE POLITICS OF
TERRORISM
 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC POLICY
A Comprehensive Publication Program

Executive Editor

JACK RABIN
Graduate Program in
Public Affairs and
Human Services
Administration
Rider College
Lawrenceville, New Jersey

1. Public Administration as a Developing Discipline (in two parts), by Robert

T. Golembiewski
2. Comparative National Policies on Health Care, by Milton I. Roemer, M.D.
3. Exclusionary Injustice: The Problem of Illegally Obtained Evidence, by
Steven R. Schlesinger
4. Personnel Management in Government: Politics and Process, by Jay M.
Shafritz, Walter L. Balk, Albert C. Hyde, and David H. Rosenbloom (out of
print)
5. Organization Development in Public Administration (in two parts), edited
by Robert T. Golembiewski and William B. Eddy (Part two out of print)
6. Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective. Second Edition,
Revised and Expanded, by Ferrel Heady
7. Approaches to Planned Change (in two parts), by Robert T. Golembiewski
8. Program Evaluation at HEW (in three parts), edited by James G. Abert
9. The States and the Metropolis, by Patricia S. Florestano and Vincent L.
Marando
10. Personnel Management in Government: Politics and Process. Second Edition,
Revised and Expanded, by Jay M. Shafritz, Albert C. Hyde, and David H.
Rosenbloom
11. Changing Bureaucracies: Understanding the Organization Before Selecting
the Approach, by William A. Medina
12. Handbook on Public Budgeting and Financial Management, edited by Jack
Rabin and Thomas D. Lynch
13. Encyclopedia of Policy Studies, edited by Stuart S. Nagel
14. Public Administration and Law: Bench v. Bureau in the United States, by
David H. Rosenbloom
15. Handbook on Public Personnel Administration and Labor Relations, edited
by Jack Rabin, Thomas Vocino, W. Bartley Hildreth, and Gerald J. Miller
16. Public Budgeting and Finance: Behavioral, Theoretical and Technical
Perspectives, edited by Robert T. Golembiewski and Jack Rabin
17. Organizational Behavior and Public Management, by Debra W. Stewart and
G. David Garson
18. The Politics of Terrorism. Second Edition, Revised and Expanded, edited
by Michael Stohl
19. Handbook of Organization Management, edited by William B. Eddy
20. Organization Theory and Management, edited by Thomas D. Lynch
21. Labor Relations in the Public Sector, by Richard C. Kearney
22. Politics and Administration: Woodrow Wilson and American Public
Administration, edited by Jack Rabin and James S. Bowman
23. Making and Managing Policy: Formulation, Analysis, Evaluation, edited
by G. Ronald Gilbert
24. Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective. Third Edition, Revised,
by F errel Heady
25. Decision Making in the Public Sector, edited by Lloyd G. Nigro
26. Managing Administration, edited by Jack Rabin, Samuel Humes, and Brian
S. Morgan
27. Public Personnel Update, edited by Michael Cohen and Robert T.
Golembiewski
28. State and Local Government Administration, edited by Jack Rabin and
Don Dodd
29. Public A dm inistration: A Bibliographic Guide to the Literature, by Howard
E. McCurdy
30. Personnel Management in Government: Politics and Process, Third Edi­
tion, Revised and Expanded, by Jay M. Shafritz, Albert C. Hyde, and
David H. Rosenbloom
31. Handbook of Information Resource Management, edited by Jack Rabin and
Edward M. Jackowski
32. Public Administration in Developed Democracies: A Comparative Study,
edited by Donald C. Rowat
33. The Politics of Terrorism, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded, edited by
Michael Stohl

Other volumes in preparation

Handbook on Health and Human Service Administration, edited by Jack

Rabin and Marcia Steinhauer
Handbook of Public Administration, edited by Jack Rabin, W. Bartley
Hildreth, and Gerald J. Miller
THE POLITICS OF
TERRORISM
Third Edition, Revised and Expanded

edited by
Michael Stohl
Department of Political Science
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana

MARCEL DEKKER, IN C New York and Basel

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The Politics of terrorism.

(Public administration and public policy ; 33)

Bibliography: p.
1. Terrorism. I. Stohl, Michael. II. Series.
HV6431.P64 1988 322.4’2 87-27578
ISBN 0-8247-7814-6

Copyright © 1988 by MARCEL DEKKER, INC. All Rights Reserved

Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming,
and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without per­
mission in writing from the publisher.

MARCEL DEKKER, INC.

270 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016

Current printing (last digit):

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Preface to the Third Edition j

It is a pleasure to once again have the opportunity to revise and expand the col­
lection of essays that comprise this volume. The original aim of the collection
remains unchanged: to provide the reader with an introduction to the concept
and practice of terrorism embedded within a firm understanding of politics and
social structure. The assembled chapters explore the major theories, typologies,
concepts, strategies, tactics, ideologies, practices, implications of, and responses
to contemporary political terrorism. From the exploration and consideration of
these analyses of political terrorism, readers should become cognizant of the im­
portance of historical, structural, and environmental constraints relevant to any
analysis of terrorism. Hopefully, they will also gain some of the necessary tools
to perform their own analyses of new situations that arise.
This edition features the addition of six wholly new chapters (two in Part
1 and four in Part 2) and four thoroughly revised contributions. The additions
to Part 1 focus on typologies and state terrorism in international affairs. The
additions to Part 2 are the analyses of domestic and international terrorism by
the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of State, and analyses
of terrorism within Latin America, the Middle East, and the United States. The
chapters on Western Europe, Sub-Sahara Africa and the introduction and con­
clusion have been altogether revised and expanded to account for the events of
the past five years.
iv Preface to the Third Edition

The transformation of a collection of essays from a manuscript to book

was made possible by the efforts of many more than I. Lorraine Adriansen and
Estelle Busillo, my production editors, skillfully and pleasantly guided the
process. Beth Turner and Kim Orth of Purdue University’s Department of
Political Science contributed mightily to the administrative and clerical tasks
associated with editing the volume and my own contributions.
Finally, Cynthia, Rachel, and Ilene provided the environment within which
it is a pleasure to both work and play.

Michael Stohl
Preface to the Second Edition

It is a pleasure to have had the opportunity to revise and expand the collection
of essays that follows. The introduction and each of the case studies have been
revised, and a new chapter on government terrorism has been added along with
a new concluding chapter. The original aim of the collection remains unchanged:
to provide students with an introduction to the concept and practice of terror­
ism embedded within the process of politics. The importance of placing
terrorists and terrorist actions within a socio-political setting is stressed through­
out the work.
Once again it was a pleasure to work with the production staff at Marcel
Dekker. They guided the work from manuscript to finished book with care and
encouragement. I thank them for their assistance and Marcel Dekker for en­
couraging this second edition.

Michael Stohl

v
Preface to the First Edition

The collection of essays that follows introduces students to the concept and
practice of terrorism in the process of politics. The assembled authors explore
the major theories, concepts, strategies, ideologies, practices, and implications of
contemporary terrorism. From these explorations of political terrorism, students
should become cognizant of the importance of the historical and situational con­
straints relevant to an analysis of terrorism. Hopefully, they will also gain some
of the necessary tools to perform their own analysis of new situations as they
arise.
In the process of assembling this collection, I have received the assistance
of a number of persons to whom this preface acknowledges and expresses
thanks. Kenneth Friedman and Dr. Maurits Dekker first encouraged and ex­
pressed interest in the project. Primary thanks go to the contributors whose
original essays are, of course, the principal merit of the collection. To those
prompt and cooperative contributors who patiently waited for their, shall we say
kindly, not so prompt and cooperative contributors, who resisted my early at­
tempts to terrorize them into submission, thank you for finally finishing. Special
thanks to Peter Grabosky, who constantly apprised me of information and mate­
rials that would be of use in developing the collection and the introductory essay.
The transformation of a collection of essays from manuscript to book was
made possible by the efforts of the production staff at Marcel Dekker. The
viii Preface to the First Edition

reader should be aware that some of the chapters were not edited for sexism,
and as a result, masculine forms were used where actual gender is indefinite.
Finally, I extend my love and appreciation to Cynthia, Rachel, and Ilene
for providing an atmosphere within which it is a pleasure to both work and play,

Michael Stohl
Contents

Preface to the Third Edition iii

Preface to the Second Edition v
Preface to the First Edition vii
Contributors xv

Introduction
Demystifying Terrorism: The Myths and Realities of
Contemporary Political Terrorism 1
Michael Stohl
The Process and Purposes of Political Terrorism: Victims and
Targets
Myths of Contemporary Political Terrorism
Notes
References

PARTI
THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF POLITICAL
TERRORISM
1. Some Characteristics of Political Terrorism in the 1960s 31
Ted Robert Gurr

ix
Definitions and Data
Patterns of Terrorism, 1961-1970
Characteristics of Terrorist Movements, 1961-1970
The Objectives of Political Terrorism, 1961-1970
International Aspects of Political Terrorism
Some Conclusions on the Conditions and Consequences
of Political Terrorism
Notes

The Urban Context of Political Terrorism

P. N. Grabosky
Introduction
The Recruitment, Organization, and Logistical Support
of Urban Terrorists
Strategic Considerations of Insurgent and Repressive Terrorists
Urban-Oriented Tactics
Targets
Repressive Terror and Terror Countermeasures
References

Political Disintegration and Latent Terror

Peter R. Knauss andD .A. Strickland
Theoretical Framework
Case Studies
Conclusions
Notes
References

Societal Structure and Revolutionary Terrorism: A

Preliminary Investigation
Harry R. Targ
Introduction
Conceptualizations of Political Terrorism: A Critical Analysis
A Structural Model of Political Terrorism
Societal Structure, Revolutionary Organization, and Political
Terrorism
Incidences of Political Terrorism
Conclusion
Notes
References
Contents

5. The Theoretical Utility o f Typologies of Terrorism :

Lessons and Opportunities
Peter A. Fleming,Michael Stohl ,and Alex P. Schmid
Category 1. Group-Based Classificatory Schemes
Category 2. Motivational Classificatory Schemes
Category 3. Tactics and Targets: Underlying Nature
Category 4. Origin-Based Classificatory Schemes
Conclusion
Appendix: Group-Based Classificatory Schemes
Notes
References

6. Terror in the United States: Three Perspectives

Frederic D. Homer
Introduction
Terror in a Democratic Society
Terror in a Violent Society
Terror in a Pluralist Sociey
Conclusion
Notes
References

7. Governance by Terror
Raymond D. Duvall and Michael Stohl
Introduction
The Concept of State Terrorism
The Occurrence of State Terrorism
Governing by Terror in Postrevolutionary Society—The
Second World
Governing by Terror in Fragile States and Vulnerable
Societies—The Third World
Governing by Terror in Economically Developed, Pluralist
Democracies—The First World
The Occurrence of State Terrorism—A Summary of Patterns
Across Contexts
The Conditions of State Terrorism
Subjective Probabilities About the Relative Effectiveness
of Terrorism—pt and pj
The Expected Relative Costs of Terrorism—Ct and Cj
Conclusion
xii Contents

Notes
References

8. National Interests and State Terrorism in

International Affairs 273
Michael Stohl
Terrorism and the State
States and the National Interest
Just Wars, State Interests, and Terrorism
The Reagan Administration: National Interests and State
Terrorism
Notes

PART II
THE PRACTICE OF POLITICAL TERRORISM
9. Terrorism at Home and Abroad: The U.S. Government
View 295
Federal Bureau o f Investigation
Terrorist Incidents in 1985
Comparison of Terrorist Incidents 1981-1985
Domestic Terrorist Groups Responsible for Terrorist Incidents
in 1985
Suspected Terrorist Incidents in 1985
Terrorist Incidents Prevented in 1985
Major International Terrorism Accomplishments
Major Domestic Terrorism Accomplishments
Terrorist-Related Activities in 1985
Hostage Rescue Team
Analysis of Terrorist Incidents in the United States: Revisions

Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1985 317

U.S. Department o f State
The Year in Review
The State Support Issue
Terrorist Spillover From the Middle East
Target USA
Regional Patterns
Appendix 1: Chronology of Significant Terrorist Events, 1985
Appendix 2: Victims of International Terrorism, 1985
Notes
Contents

10. Ethnic and Ideological Terrorism in Western Europe

Raymond R. Corrado, with Rebecca Evans
Historical Overview of the Changing Conditions for Terrorism
in Western Europe
Ideological Versus Ethnic Terrorism
The Evolution of the Irish Republican Army (IRA)
History of the German Student Movement and the Birth of the
Baader-Meinhof Group
Concluding Remarks
Notes

11. Terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Robert A. Denemark and Mary B. Welfling
The African Context
Colonial Africa
Independent Black Africa
A Note on the Minority White-Ruled System
Conclusions
Notes
References

12. Terrorism in Latin America

George A. Lopez
Insurgent Terrorism
State Terrorism
Conclusion
Notes
References

13. Terrorism in the Middle East: The Case of the

Arab-Israeli Conflict
Ilan Peleg
Terrorism and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
The Goals and the Means of the Palestinian National Movement
The Palestinians and Other Arabs
Within the Palestinian Movement
Diplomacy, Terrorism, and Counterterrorism
Notes
xiv Contents

14. Political Terrorism in the United States: Historical

Antecedents and Contemporary Trends 549
Ted Robert Gurr
Types of Terrorism in the United States
Vigilantes, the Klan, and Contemporary Right Wing Extremists:
Terror in Defense of the Status Quo
Insurgent Terrorism: Black Militants, White Revolutionaries,
and Puerto Rican Nationalists
Transnational Terrorism
Conclusions
Notes
References

Conclusion
Responding to the Terrorist Threat: Fashions and
Fundamentals 579
Michael Stohl
Political Terrorism, the Media, and Civil Liberties
Counterterrorism and Domestic Politics
Counterterrorism, International Relations, and Domestic Politics
Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?
The Terrorist Network and the Soviet Union
References

Index 601
Contributors

Raymond R. Corrado is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology at

Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. While a Canada Council Fellow and
member of the Peace and Conflict Programme of the University of Lancaster, he
conducted research on ethnic nationalism and terrorism in Western Europe, re­
sulting in a number of journal articles in Ethnicity and the International Journal
o f Law and Psychiatry as well as numerous book chapters. More recently as a
Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Criminology and Clare Hall, University of
Cambridge, he has continued his research on terrorism in Western Europe.
Robert A. Denemark is an instructor in the Department of Political Science at
Memphis State University. He has published articles on the political economy of
violence in South Africa (with Howard Lehman) and his research interests in­
clude international and comparative political economy and political violence.
Raymond D. Duvall is Professor of Political Science at the University of Minne­
sota. For the last several years, his research, supported by grants from the Na­
tional Science Foundation, has focused on politics and governance in dependent
societies.
Rebecca S. Evans is a Ph.D. student in political science at Harvard University.
She has B.A. and M.A. degrees from Purdue University and in 1983-84 was a
Fulbright Scholar at the University of Cologne, Federal Republic of Germany.

xv
xvi Contributors

Peter A. Flemming is a PhJD. candidate in political science at Purdue University.

He received his B.A. from the University of Alberta and his M.A. from the Uni­
versity of Windsor. His current research interest is international terrorism.
P. N. Grabosky is a Senior Criminologist at The Australian Institute of Criminol­
ogy. He has been a Research Associate at the Center for Urban Affairs, North­
western University; Russell Sage Fellow in Law and Social Science at Yale Law
School; and Associate Professor of Political Science at The University of
Vermont. His most recent book is O f Manners Gentle: Enforcement Strategies o f
Australian Business Regulatory Agencies (with John Braithwaite). His current
interests include official misconduct and governmental accountability.
Ted Robert Gurr is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for
Comparative Politics at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He also is a
Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center for International Development and
Conflict Management at the University of Maryland. He has written more than a
dozen books and monographs on political conflict, criminal justice, and other
public policy issues including Why Men Rebel (winner of the Woodrow Wilson
Prize as best book in political science of 191 G)\ Rogues, Rebels, and Reformers:
A Political History o f Urban Crime and Conflict (1976); and The State and the
City (with Desmond S. King, 1987). A new edition of his Violence in America:
Historical and Comparative Perspectives (1969, with Hugh Davis Graham) is in
preparation. One of his current research projects is a global analysis of com­
munal groups in conflict; another is the historical analysis of the relations be­
tween war, revolution, and the growth of coercive states in Western societies.
Frederic D. Homer is Professor of Sociology and Political Science at the Uni­
versity of Wyoming. He has published on terror in the United States, Central
America, and Israel and has written a number of essays on crime and violence.
His Guns and Garlic: Myths and Realities o f Organized Crime was listed by
American Scholar as one of the outstanding university press books published in
1973-74. His latest book is Character: A n Individualistic Theory o f Politics.
Peter R. Knauss is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of
Illinois at Chicago, where he has taught since 1968. Dr. Knauss is currently pre­
paring a manuscript on The Socialist Tradition in Algeria, and his new book,
The Persistence o f Patriarchy: Class, Gender, and Ideology in Twentieth Century
Algeria was published by Praeger in the fall of 1987. He received a Fulbright
to Algeria and his articles and reviews have appeared in the Journal o f Modem
African Studies, The African Studies Review, and the American Political Science
Review. He is the author of Chicago: A One Party State.
George A. Lopez is Associate Professor of Government and International Studies
and a Fellow at the Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of
Contributors xvii

Notre Dame. He has published on problems of terrorism and international vio­

lence in C hitty’s Law Journal, Human Rights Quarterly, and Terrorism: A n
International Journal. With Michael Stohl he has been a contributor and coeditor
of two Greenwood Press books: The State As Terrorist: The Dynamics O f
Governmental Violence and Repression (1984) and Government Violence and
Repression :A n Agenda For Research (1986).
The Office of the Ambassador at Large for Counter-Terrorism. United States De­
partment of State is the responsible organization for coordination of the United
States effort to combat global terrorism. A yearly report is issued.
Ilan Peleg serves now as the Chairman of the Department of Government & Law
at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. He is the author of Begin’s Foreign
Policy, 1977-1983: IsraeVsMove to the Right (Greenwood Press, 1987), as well
as twenty articles on different aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict (self-defense,
refugees, the Lebanon war, ideology, security, the Israeli right), ethnicity and
politics, arms transfers, weapon production, nuclear compellence, and more. He
is now editing a book tentatively entitled The Emergence o f Binational Israel.
The Second Republic in the Making. He received a Ph.D. degree in 1974 from
Northwestern University.
Alex P. Schmid holds a Ph.D. degree from the University of Zurich, Switzerland,
where he received his training as a historian. Presently he is Associate Professor
of International Relations at the University of Leiden. He is the author of Po­
litical Terrorism:A Research Guide.
Michael Stohl is Professor of Political Science at Purdue University, West
Lafayette, Indiana, where he has taught since 1972. Professor StohTs research
interests include the relationship between foreign and domestic politics, with
special emphasis on the role of violence in politics. He is the author of more than
forty articles and book chapters, and author, editor, and coeditor of nine books
on the subjects of terrorism, linkage politics, and American foreign economic
policy. Dr. Stohl has been a Research Associate of the Richardson Institute for
Conflict and Peace Research, England, 1971-72 and 1978-79, and a visiting
scholar at the Center for the Study of Social Conflicts, the State University of
Leiden, The Netherlands, in the Spring of 1985. In 1983 he was a Fulbright
Scholar at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand to which he
returned in 1984 as a visiting senior lecturer.
Don Strickland teaches political theory at Northwestern University. His chief
interest, next to poetry, is in the relation of ideologies to political theory. He has
recently completed an extended essay on the “Rise to Power” and is continuing
work on a treatise on the nature and functions of ideology.
xviii Contributors

Harry R. Targ is Professor of Political Science and American Studies at Purdue

University. He has recently published International Relations in a World o f
Imperialism and Class Struggle (Scenkman) and Strategy o f an Empire in De­
cline : Cold War II (MEP Press). He is a coauthor of Plant Closings:International
Context and Local Costs (Aldine). He is currently doing research and writing on
U.S. foreign policy, labor and foreign policy, the global political economy of
class struggle, and revolutionary change in Central America.
The Terrorist Research and Analytical Center of the Criminal Investigative
Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued a report on the
analysis of Terrorist incidents in the United States yearly since 1981.
Mary B. Welfling has been a Senior Research Analyst with the Minnesota Depart­
ment of Corrections since 1978, where she analyzes policy issues, evaluates
correctional programs and plans for the development and implementation on the
agency’s automated information systems. She has been selected to be a member
of Minnesota’s Career Executive Service. She recently received awards for
managing projects identified as exemplary for improving the efficiency and pro­
ductivity of state government.
THE POLITICS OF
TERRORISM
Introduction

Demystifying Terrorism: The Myths and Realities

of Contemporary Political Terrorism

Michael Stohl
Department of Political Science
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana

Political terrorism is theater. It is profound and often tragic drama for which the
world is the stage. Violence, death, intimidation, and fear are the theatrical in­
gredients. The plot often involves hostages, deadlines, and high-level bargaining.
Tension and anxiety levels are immediately raised. National and international
news media frequently monitor and broadcast terrorist events as they unfold.
Law enforcement officials and sometimes insurgent terrorists are interviewed via
on-the-scene minicameras, and speculations abound about the nature of the re­
sponse that we might expect from both the authorities and the terrorists.
The central ingredients are present in all forms of terrorism, as in the legiti­
mate theater, but only certain plays are given prominent reviews and fewer still
become hits. Likewise, only a few actors and directors achieve stardom.
In the past decade, the U.S. public’s attention has been drawn to the
problem intermittently as particular terrorist acts have caught the President’s
and media’s attention. Although the fear, frustration, and often anger have re­
mained just below the surface of public consciousness throughout the decade, an
active continuous attention has been lacking.
From November 4, 1979, through January 20, 1981, fifty-three U.S.
hostages in Iran occupied the media center stage. At the time, it was believed
that none of them suffered major physical abuse and none were killed. The
hostages were certainly under severe psychological stress, and it is likely that
many, if not most, were traumatized, perhaps permanently, by the experience.

1
2 Stohl

Their situation remained fairly constant and each evening when the daily record
of captivity was broadcast the public learned very little of substance, if anything,
that was new. The Ayatollah Khomeini, however, achieved stardom as the villian
Americans loved to hate.
In 1985, U.S. hostages of a Trans World Airlines (TWA) hijacking and pas­
sengers on the cruise ship Achille Lauro were placed on the media center stage.
After hundreds of column inches, banner headlines, and days of videotape, the
two terrorist crises came to an end. In each case, one hostage was a tragic victim.
In the first crisis, Noah Berri of the Shi’ite Amal and Shaykh Fadallah of the
Hizballah achieved instant stardom. In the second crisis, Abul Abbas was ac­
corded his notoriety. In both crises the stardom proved fleeting.
Although we can be thankful that the Tehran embassy hostages and all but
one each of the Achille Lauro and TWA passengers have made it safely home, it
is time to recognize that, in addition to our consideration of whether the Carter
and Reagan Administrations “handled” the two crises well, terrorism is a politi­
cal strategy that is not practiced merely by insurgent hijackers and other ex­
tremist groups that attract the Western media. The embassy takeover and the hi­
jacking of TWA flight 847 and the hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro
were traumatic events, as have been the taking of the almost all but forgotten
hostages in Lebanon (that is, until the scandal that began to break in the autumn
of 1986) for those hijacked and for their families, and by virtue of media
coverage and government response to the action became significant events. They
are not as significant or as devastating in terms of human life as the numbers of
everyday, “quiet” murders, torture, and other state terrorist acts perpetrated by
more than one-half of the world’s governments on a daily basis.
Insurgent terrorism may make the headlines, but most of the terrorism in
the world goes unnoticed and unreported by the Western media. U.S. Depart­
ment of State reports on the incidence of international terrorism worldwide cite
approximately 5,000 events and threats of events in the 10 years between 1975
and 1985. These events resulted in fewer than 5,000 deaths. In the worst year,
1983, 720 deaths were reported, most of which occurred in Europe and the
Middle East.
During the period that the Department of State has kept statistics on inter­
national terrorism, tens of thousands of people have perished at the hands of
government terrorism and death squads, and even more have been the direct
victims of torture and intimidation in such places as Guatemala, Uganda, South
Africa, East Timor, Chile, and Kampuchea (see, among many other sources, the
yearly reports of Amnesty International). The actions of Latin American govern­
ments in the 1970s turned a verb, to disappear, into a tragic and intimidating
noun, the disappeared, the desaparecidos. This terror, what Chomsky and
Herman (Chomsky and Herman, 1979) refer to as “wholesale terror,” far out­
strips the “retail terror” that gains most Western press notice.
Demystifying Terrorism 3

The Process and Purposes of Political Terrorism:

Victims and Targets

If the attribute of popular government in peace is virtue, the attribute of

popular government in revolution is at one and the same time virtue and
terror, virtue without which terror is fatal, terror without which virtue is
impotent. The terror is nothing but justice, prompt, severe, inflexible; it is
thus an emanation of virtue. [Robespierre, Discours et Rapports de
Robespierre1 ]
Terroristic activities, consisting in destroying the most harmful person in
the government, in defending the party against espionage, in punishing the
perpetrators of the notable cases of violence and arbitrariness on the part
of the government and the administration, aims to undermine the prestige
of the government’s power, to demonstrate steadily the possibility of
struggle against the government, to arouse in this manner the revolutionary
spirit of the people and their confidence in the success of the cause, and
finally to give shape and direction to the forces fit and trained to carry on
the fight. [Program of the Executive Committee, Narodnaya Volya
(People’s Will), 18792 ]

Terrorism is not simply violence. It includes violent acts intended to influence a

wider audience, to send a message. When practiced by insurgents, it may be used
to publicize a cause or to demonstrate the weakness of a government so as to put
pressure on governments and their supporters. How the audience reacts is as im­
portant as the act itself. In the Teheran Embassy takeover, the students who
seized the embassy originally intended to hold the staff hostage for only 3-5
days. They sought to demonstrate their displeasure with the Shah’s admittance
to the United States and their ability to strike a blow against the much more
powerful United States. As time passed, they realized they could achieve much
greater results and manipulate the U.S. government, media, and public as well as
gain influence within their own society. In the TWA hijacking, the U.S. govern­
ment was not the only intended audience. The Shi’ite hijackers were also
attempting to influence the U.S. public and the publics of the other Western
nations and their own supporters and opponents in Lebanon and the Middle
East. Thus, in both these cases, the U.S. government reaction and, more impor­
tantly, the public and media overreaction served to accomplish the major
purposes of the terrorist act.
Terrorism, then, is

The purposeful act or the threat of the act of violence to create fear
and/or compliant behavior in a victim and/or audience of the act or threat.3

The key words are purposeful, violence, fear, victim, and audience. It is crucial
to understand that we must distinguish the victims of the violent act from the
4 Stohl

targets (the audience of that violence). Terrorists are primarily interested in the
audience, not the victims. The process of political terrorism may be character­
ized (Walter, 1969) as consisting of three component parts: the act or threat of
violence, the emotional reaction to such an act or threat, and the social effects
resultant from the acts and reaction. Initiation of the process of terrorism arises
for a number of quite different specific purposes, purposes that are dependent
upon the position of both the agents and the targets of terror.
An important key to the understanding of terrorism is to recognize that al­
though each of the component parts of the process is important, the emotional
impact of the terrorist act and the social effects are more important than the
particular action itself. In other words, the targets of the terror are far more im­
portant for the process than are the victims of the immediate act. The act or
threat of violence is but the first step. This may be clearly seen in the French
misunderstanding of the Algerian situation of the 1950s.4

The French thought that when the FLN [National Liberation Front]
planted a bomb in a public bus, it was in order to blow up the bus;
whereas the real FLN purpose in planting the bomb was not to blow up
the bus, but to lure authorities into reacting by arresting all the non-
Europeans in the area as suspects. [Fromkin, 1975, p. 694]

The victims of the terrorist act were the relatively limited number of passengers
and bystanders in the area of the bombing. The targets of the bombing were
many and varied. The French colons in Algeria perceived the attack as aimed at
them, became fearful, and demanded greater protection and an increase in
security measures. Many began to question the ability of the French government
to provide that most basic of governmental services—security. Some formed
vigilante groups to engage in activity that they perceived the government as un­
willing to perform or incapable of performing. A campaign of terror aimed at the
native Algerian population was initiated. The campaign, of course, only further
undermined the legitimacy and authority of the French regime. The Algerian
population, having been singled out by the regime as a group distinct from the
“normal” French and having become the object of terror by the colons, began to
question the legitimacy of the regime and became more receptive to the message
of the FLN. In addition to these two primary targets, the population and govern­
ment of Metropolitan France began to see the Algerian colony as an economic,
military, and political liability and sought a way out of the dilemma. The initial
reaction of increased force, while providing a temporary halt to the Algerian
revolution, in the end created severe strains within Metropolitan France. In
Algeria as a result of the campaign of terror and the reaction of the French
government and the colons, victory came to the FLN “less through its own brave
and desperate struggle during seven and one-half years of war than through the
strain which the war had produced in the foundations of the French polity”
(Wolf, 1969, p. 242).
Another random document with
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Corruption
in American politics and life
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Title: Corruption in American politics and life

Author: Robert C. Brooks

Release date: December 5, 2023 [eBook #72328]

Language: English

Original publication: New York: Dodd, Mead and company, 1910

Credits: Bob Taylor, Turgut Dincer and the Online Distributed

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK

CORRUPTION IN AMERICAN POLITICS AND LIFE ***
CORRUPTION IN AMERICAN
POLITICS AND LIFE
CORRUPTION in AMERICAN
POLITICS AND LIFE

By

ROBERT C. BROOKS
Professor of Political Science in the University of Cincinnati

NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
1910
 Copyright, 1910, by
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY

Published October, 1910

THE QUINN & BODEN CO. PRESS

RAHWAY, N. J.
 TO

THE MEMORY OF

James Eugene Brooks

FATHER FRIEND

FIRST TEACHER OF CIVIC DUTY

 PREFACE

Corruption is repulsive. It deserves the scorn and hatred which all

straightforward men feel for it and which nearly all writers on the
subject have expressed. Conviction of its vileness is the first step
toward better things. Yet there is more than a possibility that the
feeling of repugnance which corrupt practices inspire may interfere
with our clearness of vision, may cloud our conception of the work
before us, may even in some cases lead to misrepresentation—
which is misrepresentation still although designed to aid in virtue’s
cause. Fighting the devil with fire is evidence of a true militant spirit,
yet one may doubt the wisdom of meeting an adversary in that
adversary’s own element, of arming oneself for the battle with that
adversary’s favorite weapon. Whatever views are held regarding the
tactics of reform there must always be room for cool, systematic
studies of social evils. These need not be lacking in sympathy for the
good cause any more than the studies of the pathologist are devoid
of sympathy for the sufferers from the disease which he is
investigating. Nor need social studies conceived in the spirit of
detachment, of objectivity, be lacking in practical helpfulness. We
recognise the immense utility of the investigations of the pathologist
although he works apart from hospital wards with microscope and
culture tubes. In an effort to realise something of this spirit and
purpose the following studies have been conceived.
Of the several studies making up the present work the first and
second only have been published elsewhere. The writer desires to
acknowledge the courtesy of the International Journal of Ethics in
permitting the reprint, without material alterations, of the “Apologies
for Political Corruption,” and of the Political Science Quarterly for a
similar favour with regard to “The Nature of Political Corruption.”
Objection will perhaps be made to the precedence given the
“Apologies” over “The Nature of Political Corruption” in the present
volume. Weak as it may be in logic this arrangement would seem to
be the better one in ethics; hence the decision in its favour. Definition
could wait, it was felt, until every opportunity had been given to the
apologists for corruption to present their case.
The extent of the author’s obligations to the very rich but scattered
literature of the subject will appear partly from the references in text
and footnotes. For many criticisms and suggestions of value on
portions of the work falling within their fields of interest, cordial
acknowledgment is made to Dr. Albert C. Muhse of the Bureau of
Corporations, Washington; Mr. Burton Alva Konkle of the Historical
Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Professor John L. Lowes,
Washington University, St. Louis; Mr. Perry Belmont, Washington;
Mr. Frank Parker Stockbridge, of the Times-Star, Cincinnati; and
finally to Professor Frederick Charles Hicks, the writer’s friend and
colleague in the faculty of the University of Cincinnati. Credit must
also be given for many novel points of view developed in class room
discussion by students of Swarthmore College and the University of
Cincinnati. The members of the graduate seminar in political science
at the latter institution have been particularly helpful in this way. To
one of them, Mr. Nathan Tovio Isaacs, of Cincinnati, the author is
indebted for a most painstaking reading of the whole MS., on the
basis of which many valuable criticisms of major as well as minor
importance were made.
To the members of the City Clubs of Philadelphia and Cincinnati,
the writer also returns most cordial thanks for the various pleasant
occasions which they afforded him of presenting his views in papers
read before these bodies. While there was some smoke and at times
a little heat in the resulting discussions, there were also many
flashes of inspiration emanating from the political experience and the
high unselfish ideals of the membership of the clubs. In appropriating
valuable suggestions from so many sources and with such scant
recognition, the writer trusts that his treatment of political corruption
may nevertheless escape the charge of literary corruption.
University of Cincinnati,
Cincinnati, Ohio,
April 1, 1910.
 CONTENTS

I. APOLOGIES FOR POLITICAL CORRUPTION

PAGE
oduction:—Corruption not defensible on the ground of the
strength and prevalence of temptation 3
ur main lines of apology 4
hat corruption makes business good 4
Protection of vice 5
Corrupt concessions to legitimate business 10
hat corruption may be more than compensated for by the high
efficiency otherwise of those who engage in it 14
hat corruption saves us from mob rule 17
hat corruption is part of an evolutionary process the ends of
which are presumed to be so beneficent as to more than atone
for the existing evils attributable to it 22
nclusion: The probable future development of corruption in
politics, the failure of the apologies for political corruption 37
II. THE NATURE OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION
oduction, definition, etc. 41
requent use of the word corruption 41
egal definitions contrasted with definitions from the point of view
of ethics, political science, etc. 42
Verbal difficulties 42
Levity in the use of the word 42
Metaphor implied by the word 43
Distinction between bribery and corruption; between corruption
and auto-corruption 45
entative definition of corruption 46
alysis of the concept of corruption 46
Corruption not limited to politics. Exists in business, church, 46
schools, etc.
ntentional character of corruption. Distinguished from inefficiency 48
Various degrees of clearness of political duties 51
Consequences of wide extension of political duties 52
Recognition of political duty 55
Legal and other standards 55
The radical view 57
Advantages sought by corrupt action 59
Various degrees and kinds of advantages 60
Rewards and threats 63
Degree of personal interest involved 65
Corruption for the benefit of party 71
mmary 74
III. CORRUPTION: A PERSISTENT PROBLEM OF SOCIAL AND
POLITICAL LIFE
reme consequences of corruption 81
s extreme consequences of corruption: recovery from corrupt
conditions 82
e continuing character of the problem of corruption 85
appearance of certain forms of corruption; changes of form of
corruption 88
Subsidies from foreign monarchs 89
nfluence of royal mistresses 90
ord Bacon’s case 90
Pepys and the acceptance of presents 93
Corruption and the administrative service appointments 95
Recent changes in the forms of municipal corruption 98
itation of corruption to certain branches or spheres of
government 100
n local government only, in central government only 100
Middle grade of Japanese officials 102
 itation of corruption in amount 105
Contractual character of most corruption 106
Prudential considerations restraining corruptionists 107
mmary 109
IV. CORRUPTION IN THE PROFESSIONS, JOURNALISM, AND
THE HIGHER EDUCATION
ms of corruption not commonly recognised as such; their
significance 113
neral classification of recognised forms of corruption 116
ilement of the sources of public instruction 117
Difficulty of defining and regulating corruption in this sphere 118
fessional codes of ethics 119
rruption in journalism: an extreme view; limitations 121
rruption in higher education 132
Growing influence of colleges and universities 133
Higher education and public opinion 134
Personal responsibility of the teacher 136
he struggle for endowments and resulting bad practices 137
he teaching of economic, political, and social doctrines in
colleges and universities 139
mmary 156
V. CORRUPTION IN BUSINESS AND POLITICS
rruption in business 161
Effect of consolidation in business 163
ect of state regulation in transforming character of business
corruption 165
Necessity of further reform efforts 167
ssification of forms of political corruption 169
Political corruption resulting from state regulation of business 171
New forms of state regulation; other means of strengthening the
position of government 174
e state as seller; difficulties and safeguards 179
Work of the Bureau of Municipal Research 184
e and crime in their relation to corrupt politics 186
Methods of repression 188
dodging as a form of political corruption; quasi-justification of
the practice 192
Methods of overcoming tax dodging 195
o-corruption, and its effects upon party prestige 199
rruption in relation to political control the basis of all other forms
of political corruption 201
mmary 208
VI. CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND THE THEORY OF PARTY
SUPPORT
ty functions in the United States 213
glect of the sources of party support 217
mpaign contributions as a part of the problem 220
yment of campaign expenses by the state 221
blicity of campaign contributions 229
State laws requiring publicity 229
Congressional publicity bill of 1908 230
Voluntary publicity in the presidential campaign of 1908; results 233
Publicity before or after election 236
Special information of candidates before election 239
Publicity as applied to political organisations other than campaign
committees 241
hibition or limitation of campaign contributions from certain
sources 244
Prohibition of corporate contributions 244
Partnerships, labour unions, clubs, etc. 247
Contributions by candidates 248
Contributions by civil service employees 256
imiting the amount of individual contributions 258
Effect of smaller campaign funds on political affairs 259
ime limits of large contributions 262
Geographical limits upon the use of campaign funds 263
Effect of campaign fund reform on business interests in their
relation to government 264
imitation of campaign gifts of services 267
ension of campaign contribution reforms to state and local
elections 268
o primary and convention campaigns 270
Administration of the reform measures 271
ssibilities of campaign fund reform 273
VII. CORRUPTION AND NOTORIETY: THE MEASURE OF OUR
OFFENDING
r damaged political reputation; how acquired 277
e garrulity of politicians, its explanation 278
nsationalism of the press 281
orm movements, to what extent are they evidence of moral
improvement 287
ecial privilege in England and Germany 290
Significance of the American attitude toward special privilege 291
Special privilege not always corrupt, but may come to be
considered such 292
American criticism of special privilege as corrupt not proof of our
inferiority to Europe in political morality 294
nsequences of the wide diffusion of political power in the United
States 296
nclusion: Corruption decreasing in the more progressive
countries of the world 299
APOLOGIES FOR POLITICAL CORRUPTION
 I
APOLOGIES FOR POLITICAL CORRUPTION

Nearly all current contributions on the subject of political corruption

belong frankly to the literature of exposure and denunciation. The
ends pursued by social reformers are notoriously divergent and
antagonistic, but there is general agreement among them and, for
that matter, among Philistines as well, that corruption is wholly
perverse and dangerous. How then may one have the temerity to
speak of apologies in the premises?
Certainly not, as one writer has recently done, by presenting a
detailed and striking picture of the force with which the temptation to
corrupt action operates upon individuals exposed to its malevolent
influence. No doubt such studies are of great value in laying bare to
us the hidden springs of part of our political life, the great resources,
material and social, of those who are selfishly assailing the honesty
of government, and the difficulties in the way of those who are
sincerely struggling for better things. In the last analysis, however, all
this is nothing more than a species of explanation and extenuation,
which if slightly exaggerated may easily degenerate into maudlin
sympathy. That men’s votes or influence are cheap or dear, that their
political honour can be bought for $20 or $20,000—doubtless these
facts are significant as to the calibre of the men concerned and the
morals of the times, but they do not amount to an apology for either.
[1] If, however, it can be shown that in spite of the evil involved
political corruption nevertheless has certain resultants which are
advantageous, not simply to those who profit directly by crooked
devices, but to society in general, the use of the term would be
justified.
Four main lines of argument have been gathered from various
sources as constituting the principal, if not the entire equipment of
the advocatus diaboli to this end. These are, first, that political
corruption makes business good; second, that it may be more than
compensated for by the high efficiency otherwise of those who
engage in it; third, that it saves us from mob rule; and fourth, that
corruption is part of an evolutionary process the ends of which are
presumed to be so beneficent as to more than outweigh existing
evils.
I. Of these four arguments the first is most frequently presented.
Few of our reputable business men would assent to it if stated baldly,
or indeed in any form, but in certain lines of business the tacit
acceptance of this doctrine would seem to be implied by the political
attitude of those concerned. In slightly disguised form the same
consideration appeals to the whole electorate, as shown by the
potency of the “full dinner-pail” slogan, and the pause which is
always given to reforms demanded in the name of justice when
commercial depression occurs. But while we are often told that
corruption makes business good, we are seldom informed in just
what ways this desirable result is brought about. One quite
astounding point occasionally brought up in this connection is the
favour with which a portion of the mercantile community looks upon
the illegal protection of vice and gambling. A police force must
sternly repress major crimes and violence. Certain sections of the
city must be kept free from offence. These things understood, a
“wide-open” town is held to have the advantage over “slower”
neighbouring places. A great city, we are told, is not a kindergarten.
Its population is composed both of the just and the unjust, and this is
equally true of the many who resort to it from the surrounding
country for purposes of pleasure or profit. The slow city may still
continue to hold and attract the better element which seeks only
legitimate business and recreation, but the wide-open town will hold
and attract both the better and the worse elements. Of course,
individuals of the latter class may be somewhat mulcted in dives and
gambling rooms, but they will still have considerable sums left to
spend in thoroughly respectable stores, and such patronage is not to
be sniffed at.[2]
Ordinarily this argument stops with the consideration of spending
alone. It may be strengthened somewhat by bringing in the reaction
of consumption upon production. A great city prides itself upon its
ceaseless rush and gaiety, its bright lights and crowded streets, its
numerous places of amusement and all the evidences of material
prosperity and pleasure. These may be held to be enhanced when
both licit and illicit pursuits and diversions are open to its people; and
further, the people themselves, under the attraction of such varied
allurements, may strive to produce more that they may enjoy more.
In the Philippines, it is said that the only labourers who can be relied
upon to stick to their work any considerable length of time are those
who have caught the gambling and cock-fighting mania. Under
tropical conditions a little intermittent labour easily supplies the few
needs of others, whereas the devotee of chance, driven by a
consuming passion, works steadily. In the present state of a fallen
humanity there are presumably many persons of similar character
living under our own higher civilisation.
Strong as is the hold which the foregoing considerations have
obtained upon certain limited sections of the business community it
is not difficult to criticise them upon purely economic grounds. Of two
neighbouring towns, one “wide-open” and the other law-abiding, the
former might, indeed, prove more successful in a business way. But
we have to consider not simply the material advantage in the case of
two rival cities. The material welfare of the state as a whole is of
greater importance, and it would be impossible to show that this was
enhanced by corruptly tolerating gambling and vice anywhere within
its territory. On the contrary, economists have abundantly shown the
harmful effects of such practices, even when no taint of illegality
attaches to them. What the “wide-open” community gains over its
rival is much more than offset by what the state as a whole loses.
Moreover, it may well be doubted whether the purely economic
advantage of the “wide-open” city is solid and permanent. Even
those of its business men who are engaged in legitimate pursuits are
constant sufferers from the general neglect of administrative duty,
and sometimes even from the extortionate practices, of its corrupt
government. They may consider it to their advantage to have
gambling and vice tolerated, but only within limits. If such abuses
become too open and rampant legitimate business is certain to
suffer, both because of the losses and distractions suffered by the
worse element in the community and because of the fear and
avoidance which the prevalence of vicious conditions inspires in the
better classes. Indeed cases are by no means uncommon where the
better business element has risen in protest against lax and
presumably corrupt police methods which permitted vice to flaunt
itself so boldly on retail thoroughfares that respectable women
became afraid to venture upon them. There remain, of course, the
expedients of confining illicit practices to certain districts of the city,
or of nicely restraining them so that, while permitting indulgence to
those who desire it, they do not unduly offend the moral element in
the community. But such delicate adjustments are difficult to
maintain, since vice and gambling naturally seek to extend their field
and their profits and, within pretty generous limits, can readily afford
to make it worth while for a corrupt city administration to permit them
to do so. And even if they are kept satisfactorily within bounds, the
state as a whole, if not the particular community, must suffer from
their pernicious economic consequences.
It has been thought worth while to go at some length into the
criticism on purely economic grounds of the argument that corruption
makes business good; first, because the argument itself is primarily
economic in character, and secondly, because its tacit acceptance
by certain hard-headed business men might lead to the belief that its
refutation on material grounds was impossible. A broad view of the
economic welfare of the state as a whole and business in all its
forms leads, as we have seen, to the opposite conviction. And this
conviction that corruption does not make business good in any solid
and permanent way is greatly strengthened when moral and political,
as well as financial, values are thrown into the scale. It is not
necessary to recite in detail the ethical argument against gambling
and vice in order to strengthen this point. The general duty of the
state to protect the lives and health and morals of its people, even at
great financial sacrifice if necessary, is beyond question. There is a
possibility, as Professor Goodnow maintains,[3] that in the United
States we have gone too far in attempting to suppress by police
power things that are simply vicious, as distinguished from crimes;
but however this may be, some regulation or repression of vice is