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Right-Wing Terrorism. Still an Underestimated Threat

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Lone Wolves

Abstract

A famous old Chinese proverb, attributed to the war theorist Sun Tzu , states: “Kill one, terrify 10,000.” A modern terrorist would even say in the global age and following 11 September 2001 : “Kill one, terrify 10 or even 100 million.” And also: We no longer need an organised group to generate this terror, more or less the DNA of terrorism. One lone individual suffices nowadays. Global media discovered this on 22 July 2011: After many years of planning, the Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik murdered 77 people according to a diabolical choreography, with many young people numbered amongst the victims. Initial “knee-jerk”, reflex-like and premature assessments pondered whether the work of al-Qaeda could be observed in this cold-bloodedness.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Quoted in Paul Wilkinson : Terrorism and the Liberal State, London 1977, p. 48.

  2. 2.

    Cf. Trevor Aaronson : Terrorism’s double standard. Violent far-right extremists are rarely prosecuted as terrorists, in: The Intercept dated 23 March 2019 , https://theintercept.com/2019/03/23/domestic-terrorism-fbi-prosecutions/.

  3. 3.

    Barack Obama: “Obama says “lone wolf terrorist” biggest US threat”, in: Reuters.com of 17 August 2011, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-obama-security/obama-says-lone-wolf-terrorist-biggest-u-s-threat-idUSTRE77F6XI20110816.

  4. 4.

    BBC news, 21 June 2019, New Zealand man jailed for 21 months for sharing Christchurch shooting video, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48671837.

  5. 5.

    Jörg Diehl amongst others: Ego-Shooter, in: Der Spiegel (cover), No. 13, 23 March 2019, pp. 12–19, here p. 13.

  6. 6.

    See Eleanor Ainge Roy/Michael McGowan : New Zealand asks: how was the threat from the far right missed, in: The Guardian of 20 March 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/21/new-zealand-asks-how-was-the-threat-from-the-far-right-missed.

  7. 7.

    Fuchs was not included in the renowned standard reference work by Law , Randall D. (ed.): The Routledge History of Terrorism, Oxon/New York 2015.

  8. 8.

    See Paul Schliefsteiner : Austria’s Homegrown Lone Actor Terrorist: Franz Fuchs and the Letter Bomb Campaign of the 1990s, in: Journal for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security Studies, 12 (2018) 1, pp. 67–92.

  9. 9.

    Cf. Uwe Backes : Rechtsextremistische Gewalt in Europa, in: Gerhard Hirscher/Eckhard Jesse (ed.) : Extremismus in Deutschland, Baden-Baden 2013, p. 43.

  10. 10.

    Jeffrey D. Simon : The Alphabet Bomber. A Lone Wolf Terrorist ahead of his time, Nebraska 2019, p. 172. This book covers the lone-wolf Muharem Kurbegovic, forgotten today, the so-called “Alphabet Bomber”. This native Yugoslav, possessing specialist training as an engineer, exploded a bomb at Los Angeles airport on 6 August 1974. Three died. And further attacks followed.

  11. 11.

    See as an exception Daniel Koehler : Right-Wing Terrorism in the twenty-first Century. The ‘National Socialist Underground’ and the history of terror from the Far-Right in Germany, London/New York 2017.

  12. 12.

    Musharbash, Yassin : Die neue al-Qaida. Innenansichten eines lernenden Netzwerks, Cologne 2006, p. 211.

  13. 13.

    Nassim Nicholas Taleb: Anti-Fragilität. Anleitung für eine Welt, die wir nicht verstehen, Munich 2014, p. 21.

  14. 14.

    Cf. Michael König : Poetik des Terrors. Politisch motivierte Gewalt in der Gegenwartsliteratur, Bielefeld 2015, p. 9.

  15. 15.

    Peter Waldmann : Terrorismus, Provokation der Macht, Munich 1998, p. 9.

  16. 16.

    The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) based in London, a think tank for security questions, reached such a result for the period from 2000 to the end of 2014 on the basis of a Global Terrorism Database. Cf. RUSI: Final Report Lone Actor Terrorism, London 2016, https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/201604_clat_final_report.pdf.

    Indeed, as experts verify, the statistics on Lone Wolf terrorism must be enjoyed with care. Cf. Mark S. Hamm /Ramón Spaaij: “Key Issues and Research Agendas in Lone Wolf Terrorism”, in: Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 38(2015) 3, p. 173.

  17. 17.

    Pankaj Mishra : Das Zeitalter des Zorns. Eine Geschichte der Gegenwart, Frankfurt on Main 2017, p. 319.

  18. 18.

    Sepp Binder : Terrorismus. Herausforderung und Antwort, Bonn 1978, p. 55.

  19. 19.

    Cf. Ulrich Beck: Weltrisikogesellschaft. Auf der Suche nach der verlorenen Sicherheit, Frankfurt/Main 2007.

  20. 20.

    Cf. Gerd Gigerenzer : Risiko. Wie man die richtigen Entscheidungen trifft, Munich 2013, p. 22f.

  21. 21.

    Cf. University of Maryland : Global Terrorism Index 2017. Institute for Economics & Peace, https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Global%20Terrorism%20Index%202017%20%284%29.pdf.

  22. 22.

    Cf. ibid.

  23. 23.

    The 15 min long video consists of sequences from the cartoon series “The Pink Panther”, in which original exposures of victims and sites of attacks as well as television extracts and newspaper cuttings were pasted over the series of attacks. By using the Pink Panther cartoon figure, the assailants are celebrated, victims and investigative authorities are ridiculed. There is a threat at the end, announcing further attacks. This is carried out with a promise typical for the closing credits of the series “Today is not just any day, I will return, no question”. The DVDs were clearly stored for several years in the NSU activists’ apartment building and should have been sent at a specified time to certain institutions, media outlets and organisations (cf. Petra Bernhardt : “Terrorbilder”, in: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 66 (2016) 24–25, p. 8).

  24. 24.

    Cf. with Olaf Sundermeyer original documents: Rechter Terror in Deutschland, Munich 2012, p. 253.

  25. 25.

    German Federal Ministry of the Interior (ed.): Verfassungsschutzbericht 2010, Berlin 2011.

  26. 26.

    Cf. Olaf Sundermeyer : Rechter Terror in Deutschland, Munich 2012, p. 253.

  27. 27.

    Cf. Ulrich Schmidt : „Blaupause „Laserman““, in: taz dated 5 September 2012, http://www.taz.de/Vorbild-des-Terrornazi-Trios/!5084793.

  28. 28.

    Max Hammer: Blood & Honour Field Manual, (no source of origin), p. 29, https://archive.org/details/Blood_Honour_Field_Manual_Max_Hammer.

  29. 29.

    Ibid. p. 21.

  30. 30.

    According to Mark S. Hamm/Ramón Spaaij : The Age of Lone Wolf Terrorism, New York 2017.

  31. 31.

    Cf. David C. Rapoport : “The Four Waves of Modern Terrorism”, in: Audrey Kurth Cronin/James M. Ludes (ed.): Attacking Terrorism: Elements of a Grand Strategy, Washington D. C. 2004, pp. 46–73.

  32. 32.

    Cf. Jeffrey D. Simon : “Technological and Lone Operator Terrorism: Prospects for a Fifth Wave of Global Terrorism”, in: Jean Rosenfeld (ed.): Terrorism, Identity, and Legitimacy: The Four Waves Theory and Political Violence, 2011, pp. 44–65; Sebastian Gräfe : Rechtsterrorismus in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Baden-Baden 2017, pp. 76f.

  33. 33.

    During an attack by a group of armed Sunni fundamentalists on the Great Mosque in Mecca , the Holy place in Islam, almost one thousand people lost their lives in 1979. The high number was due to the special celebration for the turn of the century according the Islamic method of counting the passage of time.

  34. 34.

    Viktoria Dümer : „Bild erklärt die „einsamen Wölfe“. Das gefährlichste Terrorphänomen der Welt“, in: Bild.de dated 20 October 2015, https://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/terroranschlag/einsame-woelfe-was-macht-sie-so-gefaehrlich-43064650.bild.html.

  35. 35.

    The Bavarian Intelligence Services office wrote to me in a letter of 22 September 2017 following my request. The term “lone wolf” was a “choice of words inspiring heroism”.

  36. 36.

    Cf. Bayerischer Rundfunk Munich – Stadt in Angst, directed by Stefan Eberlein, initially broadcast 18 July 2018.

  37. 37.

    Focus.de: „Amoklauf in München. Zuschauer kritisieren ARD-Mann Roth für Berichterstattung“, 24 July 2017, https://www.focus.de/kultur/kino_tv/nach-bluttat-in-muenchen-zuschauer-kritisieren-ard-mann-roth-fuer-berichterstattung_id_5756468.html.

  38. 38.

    Cf. Robert Kahr /Frank Robertz/Ruben Wickenhäuser: „Mediale Inszenierung von Amok und Terror“, in: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte 67 (2017) 4, p. 35.

  39. 39.

    Bavarian State Office for Intelligence Services: Vorläufige Erstbewertung vom 10. August 2016, Munich.

  40. 40.

    Bavarian Ministry of the Interior (July 2017): Reply to the written question from the member of the state parliament Katharina Schulze (Fraction of the Greens in the Parliament) dated April 2017, p. 4, https://www.bayern.landtag.de/www/ElanTextAblage_WP17/Drucksachen/Schriftliche%20Anfragen/17_0017018.pdf.

  41. 41.

    Cf. With original documentation Heiner Effern: „Tödlicher Hass eines Rassisten“, in: Süddeutsche Zeitung of 7/8 October 2017, p. 79.

  42. 42.

    Quoting according to spree killing researcher Britta Bannenberg , who here nevertheless detects a killing frenzy, according to: Martin Bernstein : „Das war ein rassistischer Ansatz“, in: Süddeutsche Zeitung dated 18 June 2018, p. 43. Sonboly was sooner the offender than a victim. This is what a one-time friend said, that Sonboly had hacked into his old Facebook account: “He knew my e-mail addresses and my password. Then he wrote to my friends and told them I was gay.”

  43. 43.

    Patrick Bahners: „Als Rechtsextremist durchgefallen“, in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung dated 9 October 2017, http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/kommentar-als-rechtsextremist-durchgefallen-15237076.html.

  44. 44.

    Quotation from ZDF heute journal, broadcast on 12 July 2017.

  45. 45.

    Quoted according to ARD Fakt: „München-Attentat: Warum viele Hintergründe im Dunkeln bleiben“, Report: Christian Bergmann /Marcus Weller , broadcast on 22 August 2017.

  46. 46.

    Cf. Joachim Herrmann : „Bei der Polizei gibt es Baustellen“, in: Der Spiegel 32/2017, pp. 42–44.

  47. 47.

    Quoted according to Martin Bernstein : „Das war ein rassistischer Ansatz“, in: Süddeutsche Zeitung dated 18 June 2018, p. 43.

  48. 48.

    Cited according to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of 28 July 2016: „Herrmann bestätigt Hinweise auf rechtsextremistisches Weltbild“, http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/herrmann-bestaetigt-rassistisches-weltbild-von-muenchen-amoklaeufer-14361209.html.

  49. 49.

    Alexander Horn: Amoklauf von David Sonboly , Ergebnis der Fallanalyse, München, internal document, 15 December 2016.

  50. 50.

    Cf. Florian Hartleb : Rechtsextremistisch motivierter Einsamer-Wolf-Terrorismus statt Amoklauf . Eine notwendige Neubewertung der Morde am Olympiaeinkaufszentrum München. Gutachten für die Stadt München im Zuge einer Expertenanhörung, Munich, October 2017. (A short version can be viewed at https://www.muenchen.de/rathaus/Stadtpolitik/Fachstelle-fuer-Demokratie/Kampagnen/Expertengespr-ch--Hintergr-nde-und-Folgen-des-OEZ-Attentats-.html.) There is a somewhat longer version in Kriminalistik 12/2017, p. 715–722.

  51. 51.

    Federal Office of Justice, press release: „Bundesamt für Justiz zahlt Härteleistungen zugunsten der Opfer der Tat am Münchener Olympia-Einkaufszentrum“, Berlin, 14 March 2018, https://www.bundesjustizamt.de/DE/Presse/Archiv/2018/20180314.html?nn=3449818.

  52. 52.

    Cf. Farmington Daily Times: “Aztec school shooter reached out to other school shooters, planned killings online”, 20 April 2018, https://www.daily-times.com/story/news/crime/2018/04/17/aztec-high-school-shooting-investigation-william-atchison/513013002/.

  53. 53.

    Cf. Entry „Munich Massacre“, https://encyclopediadramatica.rs/Munich_Massacre.

  54. 54.

    Cf. ARD Fakt, broadcast dated 15 May 2018, Report: Christian Bergmann , https://www.mdr.de/investigativ/ermittlungsfehler-oez-attentat-muenchen-100.html (retrieved on 25 May 2018).

  55. 55.

    According to Martin Bernstein /Susi Wimmer: „Freunde von David S. nun in der Psychiatrie“, in: Süddeutsche Zeitung dated 28 July 2016, https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/nach-amoklauf-in-muenchen-freunde-von-david-s-nun-in-der-psychiatrie-1.3099158.

  56. 56.

    Cf. Response by the federal government (Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community) to the request from the German Member of Parliament Martina Renner (The Left) dated 27 June 2018, Verbindungen des Attentäters vom Olympia-Einkaufszentrum in München in die USA, BT Drucksache 19/2246, Response to Question 82.

  57. 57.

    Cf. ibid.

  58. 58.

    Cf. Alexander Kain : „Amoklauf oder Tat eines virtuellen Terror-Netzwerks?“, in: Passauer Neue Presse dated 16 May 2018, p. 3.

  59. 59.

    The statement speaks for this a little: “It cannot be denied that the anniversary of the date of the attack in Norway was chosen as the date for his assault (22.7.2011)” (Britta Bannenberg : Expert Report for the case David S. for the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office , Gießen, February 2018). This has the effect as though something has been denied, which is undeniable.

  60. 60.

    As had already been reported in a public speech, see Gießener Anzeiger, 12 November 2017, p. 14, http://www.giessener-anzeiger.de/lokales/stadt-giessen/nachrichten-giessen/giessen-teilnehmer-informieren-sich-ueber-den-aktuellen-forschungsstand-zum-thema-amoklauf_18310878.htm.

  61. 61.

    Cf. Britta Bannenberg : „Gutachten zum Fall von David S. für das Bayerische Landeskriminalamt“, Gießen, February 2018, p. 64. cf. Ralph Hub too for criticism of the Expert Report: „Rechtsextrem oder nicht? Streit um Todesschützen“, in: Abendzeitung dated 9/10 June 2018, p. 6. Criticism likewise rained down in the Süddeutsche Zeitung: “Experts will perhaps still be talking about the scientific merits of Bannenberg’s expert’s report. She describes the perpetrator’s thoughts in a few places, as though she knew them. ‘The fact he asked the police officer to shoot him, concerned his fear of suffering pain and of possibly surviving.’ This is always the case. ‘Whatever empathy may be lacking for the victims, the cowardly perpetrators’ feelings of self-pity are all the more distinctive.’” (Ronen Steinke: „Der große Streit über David S.“, in: Süddeutsche Zeitung dated 8 June 2018, p. 47).

  62. 62.

    Application with printed matter number 17/22714, resolved on 13 June 2018 by the Committee for the Interior in the Bavarian Parliament.

  63. 63.

    There were individual requests from the ranks of the Bavarian Parliament over a period of more than two years for example by the delegates Florian Ritter (Social Democrats), Katharina Schulze (Green) and Claudia Stamm (Independent). The responses were in part delayed or dismissed on formal grounds. The overall context has not yet been discussed in the State Parliament, and not in specialist committees either. In the meantime, the CSU faction had agreed to the requests. Nevertheless, there has scarcely been any enlightenment on the part of the State Parliament, and also no admission of having made any mistakes. This applies to the Ministry of the Interior in particular. The Member of the Bavarian Parliament Claudia Stamm organised a specialist discussion and organised a press conference in June 2018 in light of the new revelations, the latter with the author in attendance. In general, however we are able to record there was a poorly coordinated, scarcely interested as well as a poor strategic response by the Opposition.

  64. 64.

    Communication from the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior to the Bavarian Parliament on 3 July 2018 (Response to the resolution of the Bavarian State Government dated 12 December 2017 concerning a murderous attack of 22 July 2016 at the Olympia Shopping Centre in Munich—Motives and Background of the assailant David S.).

  65. 65.

    Bavarian Ministry of the Interior: Final report in the case of the Munich attacks, Munich, 24th October 2019, p. 15.

  66. 66.

    Cf. Michail Logvinov : „Terrorismusrelevante Indikatoren und Gefahrenfaktoren im Rechtsextremismus“, in: Totalitarismus und Demokratie, 10 (2013) 2, p. 267f.

  67. 67.

    Nina Job : „Nicht politisch motiviert – das darf bezweifelt werden“, in: Abendzeitung of 22 July 2017, http://www.abendzeitung-muenchen.de/inhalt.amoklauf-am-oez-nicht-politisch-motiviert-das-darf-bezweifelt-werden.4672c2f9-63cf-44bb-8609-53b4c079d73f.html.

  68. 68.

    Karin Priester : Warum Europäer in den Krieg ziehen. Der Dschihadismus als rechtsradikale Jugendbewegung, Frankfurt on Main 2017, p. 267.

  69. 69.

    Cf. Barbara Zehnpfennig : Hitlers „Mein Kampf“. Eine Interpretation, Munich 2006.

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    Florian Hartleb

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Hartleb, F. (2020). Right-Wing Terrorism. Still an Underestimated Threat. In: Lone Wolves. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36153-2_1

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