Left -Wing political violence and the terrorist constituency in West-Germany 1969-1979

In the last two decades the importance of the surroundings of violent militant groups and the notion that terrorist attacks do not only serve to create fear, but also are a form of communication with their (possible) constituency - the parts of society these groups claimed to be fighting for and which could be seen as the potential revolutionary part of society without whom the terrorist organizations could not exist - has gained interest among researchers. The focus of this research is still very much on active supporters and not on the broader constituency. This broader constituency, however, did feel the consequences of counterterrorist actions, even though they had no active connection with the terrorists. This lack of attention within research concerning the constituency means that we miss a part of the dynamics in a terrorist-state conflict. In order to get a full understanding of a terrorist – state conflict and, most of all, the lifespan of terrorist organizations, it is crucial to get a better understanding of the broader constituency. In this paper I will look at in what way the actions and intentions of left militant groups in West-Germany during the 1970ies were affected by the debates within their constituency. This paper is part of my PhD research which is conducted under supervision of Dr. Joost Augusteijn (Leiden University) and Prof. Dr. Jacco Pekelder (University of Münster).