Right-wing terrorism
|
|
| Terrorism |
| General |
|---|
| Definition |
| Conventions |
| Counterterrorism |
| Lists |
| Groups |
| Incidents |
| Types |
| Nationalist |
| Religious |
| Left-wing |
| Right-wing |
| State |
| Ethnic |
| Narcoterrorism |
| Domestic |
| Anarchist |
| Political |
| Eco-terrorism |
| Tactics |
| Hijacking |
| Assassination |
| Car bombing |
| Suicide bombing |
| Kidnapping |
| Bioterrorism |
| Nuclear terrorism |
| Cyber-terrorism |
| Configurations |
| Fronts |
| Independent actors |
Right-wing terrorism, or "neo-Fascist" terrorism, is reactionary violence to what is seen as perceived threats to a group's value system. Right-wing terrorist ideology tends to be a belief in a religious, political, or ethno-national superiority, while often times supporting the status quo. In many cases, right-wing terrorism seeks to do away with liberal democratic governments and create fascist states in their place. They frequently attack immigrants and are both racist and xenophobic, often specifically anti-Semitic. During the Cold War, they often attempted to evoke fear of a Communist or left-wing takeover if action was not taken. Cases for right-wing terrorism can be found all over the world.
During the 1980s, right-wing Latin American terrorist groups, known as death squads, often consisted of members of the armed forces who acted in an unofficial capacity to terrorize dissidents, generally with the implicit support or protection of high ranking officials. Due to U.S. support for anti-Communist military dictatorships in Central America, some alleged that the CIA was giving support to the death squads. As private groups with overlapping memberships with the military, they were able to carry out a terror campaign on the government's behalf while giving the government a form of plausible deniability. The most famous victims of this campaign of death-squad terrorism in El Salvador were four American nuns in 1980, and Archbishop Óscar Romero also during that year. In a civil trial ending in July of 2002, a jury in Miami, Florida convicted two former Salvadoran defence officials of the torture of three Salvadoran dissidents, and ordered them to pay $54.6 million to the plaintiffs.
Europe has several cases of right wing terrorism. In Germany, the targets of violence from right-wing terrorist groups include Auslanders (foreign workers and immigrants), Jews, and other foriegn intrests. Most responsible for these acts are racist skinheads and other neo-Nazi groups. In Ireland, the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Loyalist Volunteer Force have assisted the British government in their conflict with the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
Other examples of Right-wing terrorism border on Religious terrorism, such as the shootings of abortion doctors, bombings of abortion clinics, and the Centennial Olympic Park bombing by Eric Rudolph. Some argue that the Oklahoma City Bombing by Timothy McVeigh can be considered an act of libertarian terrorism given the strongly anti-government politics of the terrorist and his supporters, whereas libertarians would respond that McVeigh violated the first tenet of libertarianism by initiating force.
In many other cases, right-wing terrorists are among the least organized; most of them belong to various neo-Nazi groups. It is rare for these right-wing terrorist groups to be sustained for long periods of time.
Examples of right-wing terrorist groups
- Ku Klux Klan
- Grey Wolves
- Ulster Volunteer Force
- Loyalist Volunteer Force
- Aryan Nations
- The Order (group)