Nationalist terrorism

Nationalist terrorism is a form of terrorism motivated by a nationalist agenda. Nationalist terrorists seek to form self-determination in some form, which may take the form of gaining greater autonomy, establishing a completely independent sovereign state (separatism), or joining another existing sovereign state with which the nationalists identify (irredentism). Nationalist terrorists often oppose what they consider to be occupying, imperial, or otherwise illegitimate powers. Violence may also be directed at immigrants who are seen as a threat to the prosperity of the local or native population of the country. Nationalist terrorism is linked to a national, ethnic, religious, or other identifying group, and the feeling among members of that group that they are oppressed or denied rights, especially rights accorded to others.

As with the concept of terrorism itself, the term "nationalist terrorism" and its application are highly contentious issues. What constitutes an illegitimate regime and what types of violence and war are acceptable against such a state are subjects of debate. Groups described by some as "nationalist terrorists" tend to consider themselves "freedom fighters", engaged in valid but asymmetric warfare.

List of alleged terrorist groups

The following are nationalist groups, which in some circles have been deemed terrorist:

• Grey Wolves ^{[1] [2] [3]}
• Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) ^{[4] [5] [6]}
• ETA ^[7]
• EOKA ^[8]
• Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan ^[9] (PKK)

• Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) ^[10]
• Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) ^[11]
• Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ^[12]
• Tamil Tigers (LTTE) ^[9]
• Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) ^[13]
• Wawelberg Group ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Lehi ^[14]
• Irgun ^[15]
• Chetniks ^[16]
• Ustashe
• National Bolshevik Front (NBF)
• Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ^[17]

The label of a group as carrying out "nationalist terrorism" does not preclude it being described in other terms:

• Nationalist terrorism may overlap with religiously motivated terrorism, so Palestinian nationalist militant groups are also sometimes Islamic (Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad), and Zionist groups are also sometimes Jewish (Kach and Kahane Chai, Gush Emunim Underground).
• Nationalist terrorism may also be identified with the left wing (for example, ETA, LTTE, IRA) or the right wing (AUC, Sombra Negra)

References

1. Slomp, Hans (2011). Europe, a Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics, Volume 1. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 744. ISBN   978-0-313-39181-1. Grey Wolves Turkish terrorist group (Bozkurtlar in Turkish), the youth organization of an extreme right party...
2. "The list of prohibited on the territory of the RK foreign organizations". din.gov.kz. Committee for Religious Affairs of The Ministry of Culture and Sport of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Archived from the original on 2014-10-25. Retrieved 2014-10-25. II.
3. Ali, Kyamal (18 February 2014). "Серые волки" собрались на охоту. ann.az (in Russian). Azerbaijan News Network. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. В 1995 году Верховный суд ликвидировал регистрацию «Боз Гурд» в связи с названием организации, известной в мире как террористическая.
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
5. Raza, Syed Irfan (10 April 2006). "BLA declared terrorist organisation, banned". DAWN.COM.
6. Report, Dawn (18 July 2006). "UK declares BLA terrorist organisation". DAWN.COM.
7. Conversi, Daniele (1997). The Basques, the Catalans, and Spain. London: C. Hurst & Co. pp. 92–97. ISBN   9780874173628.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
8. Karyos, Andreas (2009). "EOKA and Enosis in 1955-59: Motive and Aspiration Reconsidered" (PDF). London School of Economics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-29. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
9. Matovic, Violeta, Suicide Bombers Who's Next, Belgrade, The National Counter Terrorism Committee, ISBN   978-86-908309-2-3
10. Terrorist Group Profiles. DIANE Publishing, 1989. p.32
11. Cameron I. Crouch (2009). Managing Terrorism and Insurgency: Regeneration, Recruitment and Attrition. Routledge. pp. 35–36. ISBN   9781135230180.
12. Moloney, Ed (2007). A Secret History of the IRA (2nd ed.). Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0141028767.
13. Arad, Yitzhak; Arad, Yitzchak (2010). In the Shadow of the Red Banner: Soviet Jews in the War Against Nazi Germany. Gefen Publishing House Ltd. p. 189. ISBN 978-965-229-487-6. "The first UPA unit was officially established on October 14, 1942. …The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainska Povstanska Armia-UPA) was an arm of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (Orhanizatsia Ukrainskikh Nationalistiv – OUN)."
14. Ralph Bunche report on assassination of UN mediator Archived 2008-05-07 at the Wayback Machine 27th Sept 1948, "notorious terrorists long known as the Stern group"
15. Pope Brewer, Sam. IRGUN BOMB KILLS 11 ARABS, 2 BRITONS. New York Times. December 30, 1947.
16. "Chetnik". Encyclopædia Britannica.
17. "". Australian Institute of International Affairs .