To analyze politics is to attempt to understand the evolution and application of ideas in circumstances that are seldom clearly defined. These ideas are formulated into ideological structures that become the governing principles of specific political philosophies. Words such as morals, culture, freedom, and purpose are but a few examples of the overarching concepts that fit within the context of politics and ideologies, and their influence on the course of individual and social development. Indeed, within the framework of liberalism, the individual is of supreme and fundamental importance, valued by Immanuel Kant as “ends in themselves .” The liberal ideology is therefore “united in [its] desire to create a society in which each person is capable of developing and flourishing to the fullness of his or her potential .” At the core of this construction of the individual is the concept of freedom, a “natural right” that extends “the ability to think or act as one wishes […] by exercising choice .” Yet, it is here, within this idea of freedom, that questions arise into how to ensure freedom for all in a world of rapid and drastic changes and expansion, for each individual, independently entitled to that which they may deem rightfully theirs as guaranteed under the power of natural rights, may find their interests in conflict with those of others.
[...] Daniel Gasner, author of Terrorism in Western Europe: An Approach to NATO's Secret Stay- Behind Armies, and a Senior Researcher at the center for Security Studies in Zurich, Switzerland, contests that the purpose of Gladio, as it was known in Italy, and the entire Stay-Behind operation, was to prevent potential Soviet invasion and occupation of Western Europe, as well as the coming to power of Communist parties[17].” He elaborates upon the American and British fears that the “strong Italian Communist Party in alliance with the Italian Socialist Party might weaken NATO from within[18].” The response to this believed threat was a “strategy of tension to weaken the political parties on the left in Italy[19].” Judge Felice Casson, who originally discovered the secret armies in the summer of 1990 while researching acts of right-wing terrorism, substantiates this claim in his statement that Gladio existed to “create tension within the country to promote conservative, reactionary social and political tendencies[20].” The best documented example of this strategy put into practice was the Peteano bombing of 1972, in which three members of the Carabinieri, the Italian paramilitary police, were killed by a car bomb. [...]
[...] Contemporary Italy: Economy, Society, and Politics Since 1945. 2nd ed. New York: Addison Wesley Longman Limited Heywood, Andrew. Political Ideologies: An Introduction. 4th ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Heywood 29 Heywood 29 Sassoon, Donald. Contemporary Italy: Economy, Society, and Politics Since 1945. 2nd ed. New York: Addison Wesley Longman Limited Sassoon 54 Sassoon 54 Sassoon 73 Hellman, Stephen. "Italian Communism in the First Repubic." The [...]
[...] 4th ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan Kwitny, Jonathan. "The CIA's Secret Armies in Europe." The Nation 6 Apr. 1992: 1-7. Lexis-Nexis. Rome Dec Parenti, Michael. "Popular Sovereignty Vs. the State: Excerpt From 'Against Empire'" Monthly Review Mar. 1995: 1-9. Lexis-Nexis. Rome Dec Keyword: Operation Gladio. Sassoon, Donald. [...]
[...] Donald Sassoon, author of Contemporary Italy: Economy, Society, and Politics Since 1945 offers support for this point when he explains that the fit the bill perfectly: it was anti-communist, it was popular, and not tainted by any direct association with fascism[11].” Italy would therefore continue to profit, in various ways, from US so long as the DC or anti-communist elements in general, controlled government and kept the PCI at bay[12]. Yet, the faces and formulas to politics are not insulated from sudden and unexpected changes and are therefore unreliable in ensuring the longevity of a broader, albeit secretive, ideological goal, even within the context of a liberal system. [...]
[...] Perhaps therein lies the difficulty in democracy, in that although it is clearly defined and espouses themes that have express and functional purposes, the only way to protect it is to abandon its principles in the name of freedom and resort to the exact opposite. This is the nature of the struggle that many western democracies currently face, a struggle compounded by both the rapid emergence of anti-western and fundamentalist terrorism worldwide. Thus, while the threats to democracy may have new faces and new names, what remains are the ideological struggles behind these threats, and the fact that the only threat to democracy may not just be from the outside, but from manipulation on the inside as well. [...]
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