Terrorists On Trial: A Performative Perspective

Description

Terrorism trials are an exceptional opportunity for better understanding and, hence, countering terrorism, since they are often the only place where most if not all of the actors of a terrorist incident meet again, and where the media report and broadcast their respective accounts. A nexus between terrorist violence, law enforcement and public opinion, terrorism trials showcase justice in progress and thus demonstrate to the world how terrorism suspects are treated under national law. This volume views terrorism trials as a form of theatre, where the “show” that a trial may offer can develop often unexpected dynamics, which at times might inconvenience the government. Seeing terrorism trials as a stage where legal instruments are used (and abused) to argue the validity of contested political constructs, this study presents a performative perspective to draw attention to the mechanisms and effects of terrorism trials in and outside the courtroom. With a special focus on how the power of these performances may in turn shape new narratives of justice and/or injustice, it offers vital insights into terrorism trials directed involving different types of terrorism suspects, from left-wing to ethno-nationalist and jihadist terrorists, in Spain, Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. Cover......Page 1 ‎Contents......Page 6 ‎Tables and Figures......Page 8 ‎1. Introduction: A Performative Perspective on Terrorism Trials......Page 10 ‎2. Terrorism, Political Crime and Political Justice......Page 24 ‎3. The Trial of Vera Zasulich in 1878......Page 52 ‎4. Stalin’s 1936 Show Trial against the ‘Trotzkyite-Zinovievite Terrorist Centre’......Page 94 ‎5. ‘Is There any Justice Left in this Country?’ The IRA on Trial in the 1970s......Page 174 ‎6. Germany Confronts the Baader-Meinhof Group. The Stammheim Trial (1975–1977) and Its Legacies......Page 232 ‎7. National Security on Trial: The Case of Zacarias Moussaoui, 2001–2006......Page 312 ‎8. Guantánamo as Theatre: Military Commissions as a Performance in the Court of Public Opinion, 2003–2004......Page 346 ‎9. The Hofstad Group on Trial: Sentencing the Terrorist Risk, 2005–2014......Page 372 ‎10. Supporting Prisoners or Supporting Terrorists: The 2008 Trial of Gestoras Pro Amnistía in Spain......Page 420 ‎11. Performing Justice, Coping with Trauma: The Trial of Anders Breivik, 2012......Page 458 ‎12. Conclusion......Page 504 ‎13. Literature on Terrorism Trials—A Selective Bibliography......Page 530 ‎14. Notes on Contributors......Page 578 ‎15. Index......Page 584