Media and terrorism

This article approaches empirically political violence by presenting a new
database (PVGR) on political violence in Greece from 2008 to 2019. We
contribute to the literature, firstly, by examining both right-wing and leftwing
extremism and, secondly, by registering the whole spectrum of lowintensity
violent escalation from verbal and physical attacks to terrorism.
We gather data on internal-supply aspects of political violence and provide
measures of frequency, intensity, escalation, and geographical distribution.
We typologize evidence in analytical categories, thus contributing to the
classification of the phenomenon beyond ideological doctrines. We test core
theories on the causes of violence, and find empirical evidence that far left
violence is largely unresponsive to macro-level indicators of socioeconomic
grievances and political opportunities, whereas far right violence is primarily
associated with rising inequalities, sudden changes in immigration,
parliamentary representation of extremism and participation of radical
parties in government.

The Athens riots of 2008, prompted by the murder of the 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos by a police officer, initiated a cycle of protest and unrest throughout Greece. Since then, the country has experienced numerous episodes of brutal violence with political connotations. Framed in terms of the fight against austerity, anti-immigrant aggression, or various anti-systemic struggles, the violence reached unprecedented levels in the midst of the financial crisis, which itself coincided with massive flows of refugees and migrants into Greece. This politically charged violence called into question the fundamental assumptions underlying the post-1974 constitutional settlement (Papadimitriou 2009), which was founded on parliamentary rules of party competition and the acceptance of the institutional status quo by all elements of the sociopolitical order. Still, politically motivated violence is grounded in the history and culture of modern Greece and has been a constant presence in the nation's life since the 1974 transition to democracy known as the Metapolitefsi. A "culture of sympathy" (Andronikidou and Kovras 2012) toward acts of resistance to the state led to greater tolerance for violence committed by the first generation of left-wing terrorist organizations. Far-right underground organizations, meanwhile, were identified as a sort of residue of the military regime: downplayed and even ignored, they remained under the surface during the Metapolitefsi and the early years of the new democracy (Rori, Georgiadou, and Roumanias 2022).
In the newly established Third Greek Republic, far-left terrorist groups committed hundreds of violent attacks and extreme right-wing groups and neo-Nazi militias have added in their turn to the overall stock of political violence. While tolerance for violence has changed significantly as a result of democratic consolidation and economic development (Koniordos 2018), political violence in Greece has remained extensive, multifaceted, and persistent (Kassimeris 2013). That said, however, the extent and nature of political violence in Greece are to a large degree unknown, and attempts to conceptualize, measure, and evaluate the phenomenon remain problematic and inadequate. Configured by [End Page vii] a variety of forms that can be distinguished in terms of repertoires, targets, actors, and ideological doctrines—and which therefore must be understood through a variety of methodological tools—the mosaic of political violence in Greece challenges scholars to produce thorough and up-to-date research into its causes and effects.
Building on insights from political sociology, comparative politics, linguistics, and history, this special section aims to contribute to such research. Bringing together scholars from different branches of the social sciences who are conducting research on political violence, extremism, and forms of radicalism that might lead to violent actions, it offers new evidence and original insights into the above-mentioned phenomena, providing an opportunity for inclusive and self-reflective debate on various facets of political violence. While the primary focus of these essays is Greece during the Third Republic, they also provide a broader perspective on emerging patterns, various pathways, and core mechanisms of engagement in political violence. Political violence encompasses many different types of conflicts and repertoires of actions. The authors address current debates and newly emerging topics and consider both right- and left-wing extremism and various types of perpetrator—ranging from violent organizations and groups of militants to lone actors—in order to understand violent forms of action, their evolution, similarities, differences and interactions. The center of research interest is non-state violent actions that challenge the state's monopoly of violence and the authority of elected officials in setting political goals.
The authors mainly concentrate on expressions of endemic violence characterized either by clandestine operations or by public actions. The levels of organization and intensity of violent episodes vary. A diverse array of targets and actors motivated by extremist views, like-minded individuals or leading figures at home or abroad can be found in the articles, informing us on the identity and blueprint of victims and perpetrators, as well as on the role of ideology and recruitment processes. Cross-national comparisons demonstrate transnational ties and actors' networks, alongside convergences and divergences of ideas, patterns and violent techniques across states. Political violence is increasing and may be increasingly fluid...

La construcción social del miedo entorno a las maras es una realidad emergente en Honduras que forma parte de la cotidianidad. La participación de menores en sus actividades criminales no sólo ha despertado una sensación de inseguridad alimentada por los medios de comunicación, sino también demanda aplicar medidas más represivas sobre ellos. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar cómo influye el tratamiento mediático del menor delincuente en la percepción social. Tomando como referencia la revisión documental, este artículo se basa en el análisis descriptivo e interpretativo de los principales aspectos vinculantes a la relación del menor pandillero con los medios de comunicación, sobre el que se recae un discurso sensacionalista, con un efecto estigmatizador hacia el sector de la niñez que radica en zonas marginales dominadas por las maras, y que refuerza la imagen del menor delincuente. Finalmente, los resultados encontrados permiten reflexionar sobre la implicación de los medios de comunicación como generador de opiniones públicas con un componente excluyente sobre los menores que conforman las maras.