PAST AND FUTURE IN EUROPEAN TERRORISM - S OME PATTERNS AND TENDENCIES

The article surveys domestic terrorism in postwar Western Europe, iden tifying some main patterns drawing upon a data set developed by the au thor. It proceeds to suggests some macro political theoretical dimensi ons for understanding the origins of protracted terrorist campaigns, a s well as the variations in political violence between countries. The dimensions emphasised are problems of ethnicity, problems of democrati c continuity and problems relating to the integration of political fri nge groups. From this starting point, focusing on the experience of We stern Europe, the perspective is broadened to a discussion of the pros pects for political violence and terrorism in the newly democratised c ountries of Central and Eastern Europe, The argument is that in the ti me to come, the greatest potential threat stems from groups operating on the fringes of a new radicalised right, drawing public support on a hard line stance against ethnic minorities, as well as a vocal anti-c ommunism directed against former (transformed) communists returning to government positions.