Revolution, Counterrevolution and Assassination Through World War II

Since the French Revolution, the quest for revolutionary transformation and the fear of such change became deeply ingrained in the global landscape through World War II. Modern revolutions inspired counterrevolutions that strove to turn back time to an allegedly purer, finer, more moral period than the upheaval and anarchy linked to a revolutionary epoch. Revolutions often occurred through violence, and entailed a disruption of existing social, economic and political orders. Counterrevolutions were equally guilty, and frequently more so, of horrific bloodletting in the name of restoring law and order, often by shredding legal and ethical norms.
Drawing from a vast array of sources both primary and secondary, this first of a two-volume set presents a highly detailed narrative of an unholy trinity: revolution, counterrevolution and assassination. Combining intellectual, political, social and cultural history, this book highlights international protagonists, movements and ideas supporting the radical or reactionary upheaval of society, and the means that have been used to do so.

A professor emeritus of history and American studies at California State University, Chico, Robert C. Cottrell is the author of more than twenty books, including studies of the counterculture, the year 1968, American radicalism, black baseball and the World War II smokejumpers.

Robert C. Cottrell
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 220
Bibliographic Info: 48 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9665-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5429-4
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi

Preface 1

Introduction 3

 1. A Brief Look at Revolutions, Counterrevolutions and the Politics of Assassination Through the Ages 5

 2. Anarchism and Propaganda of the Deed 16

 3. The Galleanists 29

 4. The Communist Model 38

 5. The Revolutionary Wave 50

 6. The Irish Rising 58

 7. The Fascist Response 65

 8. Death in Central Europe 75

 9. A Japanese Culture of Assassinations 86

10. Targeted Murders Across Western Asia and Europe 93

11. The Red Terror 101

12. The Brown Terror 117

13. Pummeling Ethiopia, the Spanish Civil War and the Second ­Sino-Japanese War 134

14. Hell on Earth 148

15. ­Anti-Colonialism: The Stage Is Set 164

Chapter Notes 175

Selective Bibliography 203

Index 211