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3 - Competitive Escalation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2013

Donatella della Porta
Affiliation:
European University Institute, Florence
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Summary

COMPETITIVE ESCALATION: AN INTRODUCTION

Militants who joined the underground were socialized to violence during harsh social conflicts that involved competitive relations not only with outsiders but also within the social movement family. Socialization to violence happened in action, especially around specific geographical areas, through the radicalization of specific forms of action.

In Italy, in the 1970s, competition between traditional unions and new, emerging rank-and-file ones led to escalating industrial conflicts at some factories. For example, a former militant remembers that before entering an underground organization he had already burned the cars of some bosses of the big Pirelli factory – where he worked and was a delegate to the factory council (Life History no. 3). Another militant also took part in actions of sabotage, which he described as actions “linked to the working class knowledge of the production” (Life History no. 9: 260). Yet another remembers “popular processes against the bosses, some of whom were acquitted, others expelled from the factory” (Life History no. 29: 24). Activists went to the headquarters of the Magneti Marelli and took files containing personal information on the workers (ibid.: 25).

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2013

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  • Competitive Escalation
  • Donatella della Porta, European University Institute, Florence
  • Book: Clandestine Political Violence
  • Online publication: 05 April 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139043144.004
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  • Competitive Escalation
  • Donatella della Porta, European University Institute, Florence
  • Book: Clandestine Political Violence
  • Online publication: 05 April 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139043144.004
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Competitive Escalation
  • Donatella della Porta, European University Institute, Florence
  • Book: Clandestine Political Violence
  • Online publication: 05 April 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139043144.004
Available formats
×