{"product_id":"counter-terror-by-proxy-the-spanish-states-illicit-war-with-eta-9781526158826","title":"Counter-Terror by Proxy: The Spanish State's","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eBetween 1983 and 1987, mercenaries adopting the pseudonym GAL (\u003ci\u003eGrupos Antiterroristas de Liberación\u003c\/i\u003e, Antiterrorist Liberation Group) paid by the Spanish treasury and relying upon national intelligence support were at war with the Basque militant group ETA (\u003ci\u003eEuskadi (e)Ta Askatasuna\u003c\/i\u003e, Basque Country and Freedom). Over four years, their campaign of extrajudicial assassinations spanned the French-Spanish border. Nearly thirty people were killed in a campaign comprised of torture, kidnapping, bombing and the assassination of suspected ETA activists and Basque refugees.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis establishment of unofficial counterterrorist squads by a Spanish Government was a blatant detour from legality. It was also a rare case in Europe where no less than fourteen high-ranking Spanish police officers and senior government officials, including the Minister of Interior himself, were eventually arrested and condemned for counter-terrorism wrongdoings and illiberal practices. Thirty years later, this campaign of intimidation, coercion and targeted killings continues to grip Spain. The GAL affair was not only a serious example of a major departure from accepted liberal democratic constitutional principles of law and order, but also a brutal campaign that postponed by decades the possibility of a political solution for the Basque conflict.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCounter-terror by proxy\u003c\/i\u003e uncovers why and how a democratic government in a liberal society turned to a ‘dirty war’ and went down the route of illegal and extrajudicial killing actions. It offers a fuller examination of the long-term implications of the use of unorthodox counter-terrorist strategies in a liberal democracy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eForeword by Elspeth Guild\u003cbr\u003ePreface and acknowledgements\u003cbr\u003eList of abbreviations\u003cbr\u003eMaps\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction\u003cbr\u003e1 Arch-enemy: Euskadi Ta Askatasuna \u003cbr\u003e2 Continuity: Francoist legacy and transition to democracy\u003cbr\u003e3 Controversy: extradition, political offence exception and the French sanctuary\u003cbr\u003e4 Monstrous mimicry: actions and actors of the Anti-terrorist Liberation Groups\u003cbr\u003e5 Sacrifice: code of silence, political scandal and strategies of denial\u003cbr\u003e6 Symbolic violence: diplomatic embarrassment and European democratic identity\u003cbr\u003eConclusion: state-terrorism, deceptive organisation and proxy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIndex\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Manchester University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51041023525207,"sku":"9781526158826","price":76.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781526158826.jpg?v=1750948640","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/counter-terror-by-proxy-the-spanish-states-illicit-war-with-eta-9781526158826","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}