The Ongoing Effects of Anarchist Terrorism

The Ongoing Effects of Anarchist Terrorism

In the late 1880s a new wave of terrorism began to emerge: anarchist assassinations and bombings known as propaganda of the deed.  While this violence was revolutionary at the time, it continues to motivate modern terrorist actions.  From the anarchist violence of the late 19th and early 20th century to the Weather Underground Organization and Conspiracy of the Fire Nuclei today, not much has changed between the motivations and actions of these terrorist groups.

As the Federal Bureau of Investigation states, “Anarchist extremism in the U.S. encompasses a variety of ideologies, including anti-capitalism, anti-globalism, and anti-urbanization” (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2010).  This rang true throughout the late 1880s and continues to be the spark that drives some terrorist actors today.  The Weather Underground movement was a far-left group explicitly created to protest issues within the United States government, such as Vietnam War policies, racial discrimination, and growing corporate greed.  Similarly, the Conspiracy of the Fire Nuclei aims to spread their anti-authority ideology through series of bombing attacks across their home country of Greece, likely stemming from the economic collapse and subsequent European Union bailout.  Clearly the principles the FBI puts forth are not only applicable to the United States, but describe most anarchist terror movements across the globe since the 1880s.

The FBI also correctly explains that “The extremists are loosely organized, with no central leadership—although they occasionally demonstrate limited ability to mobilize themselves” (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2010).  Weather Underground was made up of young adults, most of whom were college students, and never had an organized base for the FBI to directly target.  They were a relatively small organization only capable of limited bombing attacks until their numbers grew.  If this were achieved, they would then organize and launch a full revolution against the United States government.  However, this expansion never occurred and most radicals gave up their revolutionary ideas and went on to live ordinary lives within the mainstream population (Eckstein, 2016).  The Conspiracy of the Fire Nuclei works similarly: they have never been able to significantly harm their targets and have only garnered major attention for their mail bombing campaign in 2010.  Acts of solidarity have been made in the group’s honor, but the decentralized nature of the organization prevents them from undertaking large-scale attacks that actually harm citizens or government officials (Keating 2010).  While the group is still in operation today, they have significantly decreased in influence and threat, meaning that they too could reach the same fate of the Weather Underground movement.

Overall these two groups, and modern anarchist terrorism as a whole, demonstrate the same characteristics as the wave that occurred between the 1880s and the 1920s. Revolutionist ideology has the power to destroy the familiar system by which the majority of society is content with, automatically making them a substantial threat.  While this form of terrorism is generally thought to be an isolated wave of violence which no longer impacts modern society, it clearly has a broader and deeper effect than originally noted.  The primary goals of these organizations is to be heard by their respective governments and for meaningful change to benefit the groups they advocate for.  David Rapoport believes anarchist violence began because “A ‘new form of communication’ was needed, one that would be heard and command respect” (Rapoport, 2002, 4).  As in the case with Weather Underground and the Conspiracy of the Fire Nuclei, the members of each organization felt their voices were underrepresented or purpose ignored, so they resorted to violent tactics in an effort to garner attention for their causes.  Brendan Chrzanowski of The Strategy Bridge analyzes this trend well; “it is too easy for groups such as the Conspiracy to get lost in the background. Allowing this might prove to be a costly mistake” (Chrzanowski, 2017).  While the traditional wave of anarchist terror has ended, following this linear way of thinking alienates groups whose main goal is often only to be heard and represented.  

Works Cited

Chrzanowski, Brendan. “The Conspiracy of Cells of Fire Resurgent.” The Strategy Bridge, 15 Aug. 2017, thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2017/8/15/the-conspiracy-of-cells-of-fire-resurgent.

Eckstein, Arthur M. “Weather Underground Changed the World, Even As It Fell Apart.” Time, Time Magazine, 2 Nov. 2016, time.com/4549409/the-weather-underground-bad-moon-rising/.

Keating, Joshua. “What do we know about the Conspiracy of the Fire Nuclei?” Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy, 4 Nov. 2010, foreignpolicy.com/2010/11/04/what-do-we-know-about-the-conspiracy-of-the-fire-nuclei/.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation. Anarchist Extremism: A Primer. 16 Nov. 2010, archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2010/november/anarchist_111610/anarchist_111610.