{"product_id":"counter-terror-by-proxy","title":"Counter-Terror by Proxy","description":"\u003cp\u003eBetween 1983 and 1987, mercenaries adopting the pseudonym GAL (\u003ci\u003eGrupos Antiterroristas de Liberación\u003c\/i\u003e, Antiterrorist Liberation Group) paid by the Spanish treasury and relying upon national intelligence support were at war with the Basque militant group ETA (\u003ci\u003eEuskadi (e)Ta Askatasuna\u003c\/i\u003e, Basque Country and Freedom). Over four years, their campaign of extrajudicial assassinations spanned the French-Spanish border. Nearly thirty people were killed in a campaign comprised of torture, kidnapping, bombing and the assassination of suspected ETA activists and Basque refugees.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis establishment of unofficial counterterrorist squads by a Spanish Government was a blatant detour from legality. It was also a rare case in Europe where no less than fourteen high-ranking Spanish police officers and senior government officials, including the Minister of Interior himself, were eventually arrested and condemned for counter-terrorism wrongdoings and illiberal practices. Thirty years later, this campaign of intimidation, coercion and targeted killings continues to grip Spain. The GAL affair was not only a serious example of a major departure from accepted liberal democratic constitutional principles of law and order, but also a brutal campaign that postponed by decades the possibility of a political solution for the Basque conflict.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCounter-terror by proxy\u003c\/i\u003e uncovers why and how a democratic government in a liberal society turned to a ‘dirty war’ and went down the route of illegal and extrajudicial killing actions. It offers a fuller examination of the long-term implications of the use of unorthodox counter-terrorist strategies in a liberal democracy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Manchester University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54247517225304,"sku":"9781526158826","price":97.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9781526158826.jpg?v=1765498523","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/counter-terror-by-proxy","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}