Matteo Re

The Red Brigades’ Communiqués: An Analysis of the Terrorist Group’s Propaganda

ABSTRACT The article analyzes the language, the propaganda, and communication techniques used by the Red Brigades (BR) during their activities. The analysis is based on the study of 181 communiqués, written and circulated by the terrorist organization between 1970 and 1988, i.e., from the beginning to the end of its activities. The corpus comprises three types of communiqués: a) claims of responsibility for violent actions (kidnapping, homicides), b) internal documents aimed at creating a coherent organization and ideology, and c) texts that circulated within the extra-parliamentary Left to generate positive propaganda towards the BR. The paper demonstrates that the language used, as well as the propaganda techniques, underwent important changes during the period of activity of the BR, in accordance with the evolution of their objectives and their internal development. In addition to this, the analysis reveals a certain repetition of specific communication strategies, as well as identification of specific contents that show a certain degree of homogeneity. At the same time, the article also assesses the structural changes that took place within the BR, which may have affected their communiqués.

Elementos identitarios de la violencia política internacional: análisis comparado de los Tupamaros y de las Brigadas Rojas (1963-1980)

This paper analyzes the influence of the Tupamaros – National Liberation Movement as regards the birth and later development of the Italian Red Brigades. In several of their statements, the Red Brigades themselves revealed that their actions had been inspired by the Tupamaros. In many cases, as will be seen for both groups, similarities exist with respect to the manner in which operations were carried out, even though the different spheres in which their formation and operations took place will also have to be examined.