HIS ANA - Anarchists, Terrorists, and Freedom Fighters

You will be graded on the following:

• the quality of your preliminary research,
• the level of detail and specificity in your proposed argument and structure,
• the clarity of your

The purpose of the essay proposal and outline is to allow you to commence planning your first research essay, and to receive feedback on your approach to the topic. It is designed to encourage thought and preparation for the major assessment, the research essay.

Instructions

1. Select one question from the first set of topics (listed under ‘Research Essay’) or devise your own question addressing a theme or movement from the course. As a general observation, there is a higher level of risk and effort attached to formulating your own question.
2. Conduct some preliminary research, identifying and consulting relevant journal and news articles, books, and, potentially, websites. These should be listed in a short bibliography at the end of your proposal. Four to five items will be sufficient at this early stage, though by all means list more if you have located
3. Give an overview of your preliminary argument, and some indication of the structure of your essay. Which areas will you focus on? Are there any particular case studies or examples that will be especially useful? Are there any notable scholars that have published widely on the topic? This discussion need not be highly detailed, and you are free to change your position in the finished essay − that is, you won’t be penalized for drifting away from your proposal. Certainly, your thoughts on the topic may well evolve dramatically between those initial ideas your present in your proposal, and those that you ultimately develop in the essay Avoid vague statements (including the notorious, though amusing “I will begin with the introduction… and probably finish with the conclusion…”)

Checklist:

• Have you selected a question or devised a topic that is feasible and that you feel confident of answering effectively?
• Have you presented a bibliography with at least four relevant sources?
• Is there a brief summary of your preliminary argument and structure?
• Is the majority of your response in finished, academic, prose − as opposed to point or note form? Very good luck as you start research and writing!

Grading Criteria and Feedback

 Argument

It is essential that your essay develop an argument − it cannot merely explain, discuss, or describe. It must do more than tell a story. Consider using the phrase, “In this essay I will argue…” − it is unsubtle, but provides a valuable test for your own writing and thinking. If you are unable to produce such a statement, then there is a serious risk that you have wandered off track. Remember to support this argument with historical evidence.

Structure

Your argument should be developed in a logical and sequential manner. It should progress from one sub- argument to the next, gradually building up a compelling case for your overall contention. Be cautious that you do not merely reiterate one claim insistently and repetitively throughout the essay. Sub-headings may be worthwhile

− but do try to make them do some argumentative work, e.g. “Nechaev − Architect of the Modern Terrorist

Mind?” is preferable to “Sergei Nechaev and his view of Terrorism”.

Research

High-quality research is essential for the successful completion of this task. You should draw upon a wide range of material, and deploy it to support your claims. Primary evidence is especially valuable − though this need not be drawn from a primary source. Quotes from major historical actors reproduced in secondary sources are equally valuable, though they must be cited correctly. Try to make sure every assertion you make is supported by a quote from a historical figure, or a set of facts, or statistics. Avoid invoking the claims of a scholarly authority to substantiate your argument (though this may be reasonable, provided it is done very sparingly indeed).

Expression

Your expression should be clear and effective. It should avoid the passive voice, and privilege clarity above impressive sounding words. Avoid at all costs quoting secondary source views unless you have a very good reason

− such as analyzing a particular feature of the language, or to challenge their view. An essay which reads like a tissue of vaguely and weakly linked secondary quotations will not score well.

Presentation

Ensure that your essay conforms to La Trobe style guidelines. Please try to make sure that your spelling and formatting are both correct and consistent. Reference all ideas, direct quotes, and obscure facts and statistics which are not common knowledge.

Description and Guidance for task

Tips and suggestions for writing and research:

1. Consider and discuss “why” things happened, not so much “what” occurred. Analyze, argue and evaluated as opposed to describe and It is best to err on the side of not providing enough background, than consuming your essay with description and narrative.
2. Respond directly to the question, reflecting its key This is especially vital in the introduction and conclusion.
3. Give a clear, explicit statement of your main contention early in the essay, and develop it sequentially and
4. If you are relating and listing facts and events, make sure that you emphasize and explain their Ensure that any narrative detail is subordinated to your argument (that is to say, works for your argument). Do not let narrative detail and descriptive passages drive your essay.
5. Do not quote from secondary sources unless the points they make are truly unique, or the phrasing they utilize is too good to ignore, or the specific wording is something you will be engaging Avoid quoting secondary sources for facts and basic observations − paraphrase instead and include the appropriate footnote. Your essay should not read like a series of unrelated and unexplained quotations.
6. Support all of your claims and assertions with some kind of evidence − an event, a quote from a figure involved or contemporary observer, some statistics, or at least a Avoid statements of your own opinion without adequate supporting material.
7. Engage with your sources critically where possible. This does not mean disagreeing with them for the sake of it, but rather an acknowledgement, where relevant, that there are competing points of view and The best essays will then provide footnotes or refer to the other sources which take a contrary view.
8. Show an awareness of contrary arguments, and try to show or argue why your case is superior or more
9. Consider locating your arguments in the context of an existing academic or political debate on the Some useful ways of doing this are suggested below:
   1. “X has argued that…; Y has argued that…; yet neither have properly accounted for…”
   2. “X has argued that… but this oversimplifies the [event, process]; or overstates the significance of

[person, factors]; which was significantly more complex/important/influential…”

1. “X has argued that…; by contrast, Y has argued that… In my essay, I will argue that while X’s characterization of [event, process, debate] is essentially correct, Y has better grasped [another aspect]” Avoid simply stating that each has good and bad points, and then arbitrarily combining the two, or “averaging” their positions

Topics

8. Definitions of terrorism should be based on tactics and consequences, rather than intentions, ideas, or Discuss with relation to the ideas of major academic experts on terrorism and political violence, and illustrate with historical examples (For example, and this list is by no means definitive: Walter Laqueur, Bruce Hoffman, Brian Jenkins, Alex Schmid, Yonah Alexander, Igor Primoratz, David Rapoport, Marc Sageman, and Martha Crenshaw). Difficult question.
9. Terrorism is primarily a set of techniques, which can be used to advance almost any ideology To what extent does this describe the phenomenon of modern terrorism? Support your argument with examples from terrorist movements and theorists like Nechaev and Most.
10. The poor status of women in a society is closely linked to the emergence of women terrorists. Discuss with reference to women terrorists from Revolutionary Russia, the LTTE, the Chechen War, Palestinian liberation movements, or New Left terrorist organizations.
11. The figure of the woman terrorist has been excessively mythologized and Discuss with reference to Vera Zasulich and Leila Khaled.
12. The emergence of comfortable, comparatively, wealthy, politically over-represented, figures in recent extremist movements in the Anglosphere invites more attention to narcissism and egotism as substrates for Consider in comparison to the New Left wave of terrorism in the United States.
13. Right-wing extremism is inherently disposed to terroristic techniques, insofar as it is skeptical of democracy and equal political rights for Discuss with reference to 1980s and 1990s militia, racial nationalist, and European ‘identity’ movements.
14. There can be no democratic terrorism. Support your argument for or against the proposition with some examples from the four waves of terrorism, e.g. The People’s Will, Land and Freedom, the FLN, the IRA, ETA, the Weather Underground, and modern Islamist movements.
15. Why did terrorism emerge as a recognizable phenomenon after the industrial revolution and the birth of the modern nation state?
16. Was Sergei Nechaev the prototype for the modern terrorist? Discuss with reference to Nechaev’s views

of morality, the nature of revolutionary struggle, and the personal qualities of a revolutionary.

10. Russian revolutionaries like Mikhail Bakunin and Nikolai Morozov had greater faith in the violence of a conspiratorial, underground elite than the power of a mass participatory To what extent is this an accurate description of these figures and their views?
11. The nineteenth-century anarchist movement, as exemplified the figures of Johann Most and Ravachol, was more a disparate set of ideologically confused criminals, rather than a group of political terrorists. Discuss with reference to anarchist ideas and activities between 1860 −
12. The nineteenth-century anarchist movement was a serious threat to American and European To what extent do you agree? Discuss with reference to anarchist ideas and activity (assassinations, bombings etc.)
13. Anarchism was the first example of a political movement that extolled violence as a positive virtue, rather than a necessary evil. Discuss with reference to anarchist
14. To what degree was the FLN’s victory in the Algerian War contingent on its willingness to resort to terrorist tactics?
15. Was the terrorism of the French military and the settler terrorist group the OAS more or less legitimate than that of the FLN?
16. Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers is little more than a hagiographic account of Saadi Yacef and a celebration of FLN violence. To what extent do you agree - does the film mythologize or romanticize FLN activity?
17. The French loss in Algeria was political, as opposed to military. Why do democracies lose wars they should, in military terms, win? To what extent does terrorism target democracies weaknesses, while marginalizing its strengths?
18. The IRA and Provisional IRA were engaged in an anti-colonial struggle for national liberation, morally equivalent the battle against empire in countries like Algeria, Kenya, or
19. The Provisional IRA only emerged because democratic government and democratic methods failed in Northern Ireland. Discuss with reference to electoral boundaries, discrimination, and the Irish civil rights movement of the
20. State terrorism, as exemplified by that deployed by the dictatorships of the Latin American Southern Cone in the 1970s and 1980s, is a vastly more pressing threat to human rights than the violence of non-state
21. Why should states be granted a monopoly on the means of violence?
22. The New Left terrorists, despite their professions of acting for the people, were profoundly anti- democratic and elitist in orientation. Their contempt for the general population of their democratic homelands was greater than that of the supposedly fascist governments and elites at which they directed their
23. What did the Red Army Faction actually achieve? To what extent did it advance or damage the causes it claimed to support? Discuss with the program and actions of the RAF, and the public reaction to
24. Were the basic philosophical positions, and tactical choices, of the “urban guerilla” movements significantly different from those of classical terrorism? Refer to the ideas of at least one of the following: Regis Debray, Carlos Marighela, Abraham Guillen, or Che
25. Provided that they are conducted with sufficient precision, taking care to avoid civilian deaths, there can be no defensible objection to the practice of targeted killing. Discuss in relation to Israeli and US counterterrorism
26. Democracies cannot win the struggle against terrorism. Discuss with reference to the successes and failures of counterterrorism in democratic countries over the preceding Comparison with the counterterrorist policies with authoritarian and totalitarian dictatorships is encouraged.
27. Would international terrorism be possible without the modern media? Why or why not?
28. The media does just as much to diminish support for terrorist movements as it does to promote Consider making reference to the Oklahoma City and Omagh bombings.
29. Compare the tactics, ideas, and goals of an “international” terrorist group with those of a “national”

terrorist group.

30. The outspoken international opposition to apartheid, and the brutally violent nature of the apartheid regime, should not obscure the fact that Nelson Mandela was a terrorist, and the ANC a terrorist
31. By contrast to that of the apartheid regime’s security forces, violence employed by the liberation movements in South Africa passed all the relevant tests of proportionality and selectivity. To what extent do you agree?
32. Prepare your own essay question and write on it, subject to approval from your tutor. Unapproved topics will not be marked. Ensure that your topic:
    • Allows for the construction of an effective argument, as opposed to narrative, exposition, and
    • The use of historical evidence, as opposed to theoretical
    • Addresses an issue of some significance to the history and evolution of terrorism or

Forewarned, this can sometimes prove quite challenging.

Grading Criteria and Feedback

• Prepare a 1500 word essay on one of the following
• Some awareness of the broader course themes should be apparent in this essay. For example, you may wish to draw out some overarching conclusions about the history of political violence, and to make some references to relevant topics covered, insofar as they are revealed in your chosen

1. Suicide terrorism is adopted because of its efficacy, as opposed to any distinctive ideological or religious Discuss with reference to examples of suicide bombing campaigns, for instance, those of the LTTE, Al-Qaeda, or Hamas.
2. Why is the figure of the woman suicide bomber so uniquely terrifying to the Western audience? Consider the various characteristics and social roles often ascribed to women.
3. To what extent can suicide bombing operations be prevented? How can societies detect and deter organizations that deploy suicide tactics? Substantiate your claims with reference to historical and contemporary
4. Is “asymmetric warfare”, as has been practiced in Afghanistan and Iraq, a new phenomenon? Compare and contrast with other historical examples, for example, the American War of Independence, the Vietnam War, the Malayan Emergency, or the activities of partisan movements in WWII.
5. By disregarding the “rules of war”, guerillas and “insurgents” must forfeit at least some of the rights afforded to combatants in conventional Can this be justified? Refer to historical examples in your response. You may also wish to consult the relevant international humanitarian law, notably the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Convention.
6. Guerillas and insurgents are inherently more just and legitimate combatants because they rely on the support of the Discuss with some historical examples.
7. There is an inherent link between religious belief and the mentality and worldview essential to terrorism. To what extent do you agree? Discuss with reference to examples of religious terrorism. Consider comparison with non-religious movements where
8. Although seemingly a discrete category, religious terrorism cannot be disentangled from other motivations for terrorist To what extent do you agree?
9. Religion is merely the discourse for framing and structuring national and other discontents − it is not itself the reason for terrorism.
10. There is nothing new about the “new” Discuss with reference to the terrorist attacks of the

1990s, 2000s. Comparison with preceding examples of terrorism may be worthwhile.

11. The spectre of nuclear and other mass destruction terrorism has more to do with the increased plausibility of the means for practicing it, rather than any change in attitude particular to the modern terrorist groups of the 1990s and 2000s. Consider the ideas of New Left, Anarchist, Nationalist, and Revolutionary terrorists when formulating your
12. The scale of “New Terrorism” is what distinguishes it from “old” terrorism. Discuss with reference to mass casualty bombings in the 1990s and 2000s. To what extent does the shift in scale mark a fundamental departure in the nature and purpose of terrorism when compared to that of the previous eras?
13. WMD use is the natural logical endpoint of religious terrorism − no preceding wave, be it revolutionary, nationalist, or New Left, would have found value in WMD attack. Consider reference to Aum, Al-Qaeda, and millenarian white supremacist movements in the
14. Nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons are inherently terroristic − whether they are used or reside in a missile silo, or SLBM launch tube. Nuclear deterrence and nuclear blackmail are clearly a form of Discuss with reference to ideas about nuclear strategy and their similarities with terrorism. Consider the relative importance of psychological coercion, threat, intimidation, and the scale of violence used.
15. “New terrorism” has been produced by the “new media” of the 1990s and Discuss the interaction

of post-1980 media innovations with the terrorism of the previous two decades (i.e. 1990 − 2010).

22. The “Urban Guerillas” of Latin America were closer to a national liberation movement than a terrorist Discuss with reference to the aims and tactics of ERP, the Montoneros, and/or the Tupamaros.
23. Totalitarian states rely not on the efficiency of their repression apparatus, but on the psychological intimidation the knowledge of its existence induces in the Discuss in relation to the idea of state terrorism, and ensure that your assertions are supported by specific examples (e.g. the Stasi, the Securitate, the Gestapo, the SAVAK, the DINA, the AAA etc.)
24. The aims of a resistance or revolutionary organization determine the means they will employ. Discuss with reference to the ANC military wing (MK), and/or the PAC military wing (Poqo or APLA).
25. The South African government security apparatus, encompassing Vlakplaas, BOSS, and the CCB, were the exemplars of modern state
26. Shining Path proves that subversive terrorism can be even worse than state terror. Discuss with reference to the situation in Peru, and in particular, the Peruvian TRC
27. History, as opposed to sociology, psychology, and political science, has unique advantages in the study of Prepare an essay on the historiography of terrorism, and its relative merits compared other approaches. This is a very difficult question, more typically pursued at honours or post-graduate level, consider carefully.
28. Write on a question from the first set of essay topics, ensuring in consultation with your tutor that it differs sufficiently from that chosen for your first essay (e.g. you could not write on the same movement

or tactic twice). Email your tutor with your topic from the first essay, and the one you now propose to answer.