"Pubblica Sicurezza" in the European context - Italy and the internationalisation of counterterrorism policy (1972-1982)

Politically motivated violence was a major problem of Western European states between 1972 and 1982. During this decade, groups of both political extremes, as well as transnational terrorists carried out attacks on Italian soil. Apart from claiming lives and damaging property, such assaults aimed at spreading insecurity and challenged the state as a whole. Therefore, the response to terrorism was a crucial, yet highly delicate policy field. The fact that other states were facing similar problems facilitated the first steps of collaboration at the bilateral and multilateral level. Yet, international cooperation in security questions raised problems, as it touched the core of national sovereignty. This study is an analysis of Italian counterterrorism politics in the years 1972‐1982, which in this decade evolved from a narrow national policy towards an internationally aligned policy. In contrast to former studies, this research project takes a new perspective by focusing on transfers of techniques and knowledge in this cooperation. Subsequently, the results of these mutual transfer processes are pointed out. The transfers influenced both the Italian fight against terrorism and the concept of pubblica sicurezza. By combining a conceptual approach to history with a constructivist understanding of security, the study underlines the importance of the threat perceptions for the evolution of internal security and counterterrorism policy. In this context, securitisation theory is gainful to understand the evolution of counterterrorism policy. Firstly, the study emphasises the meaning of a transnational threat perception in Italy as a precondition for international cooperation against terrorism. Secondly, it explores the bilateral cooperation with West Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Thirdly, it illuminates the multilateral cooperation among European states at the Ministerial and the practical level. Concluding, the study underlines the existence and importance of international collaboration in questions of internal security already before March 1978. The fact that secret service collaboration was already established when terrorism in Europe was not yet existent, challenges the historical treatment of internal security cooperation in post‐war Europ