Jeffrey M. Bale is Professor in the Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, USA.

1 Introduction: ideologies, extremist ideologies, and terrorist violence

2 Political paranoia versus political realism: on distinguishing between bogus conspiracy theories and genuine conspiratorial politics

3 Postwar neo-fascist internationals, part 1: Nazi escape networks, the Mouvement Social Europeenne, Europaische Neu-Ordnung, and Jeune Europe

4 Postwar "neo-fascist" internationals, part 2: Aginter Presse and the "strategy of tension" in Italy

5 The December 1970 "Borghese coup" in Rome

6 The May 1973 terrorist attack at Milan police HQ: anarchist 'propaganda of the deed' or 'false-flag' provocation?

7 Concluding thoughts on the terrorist "strategy of tension" in Italy

8 The ultranationalist right in Turkey and the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II

9 'National revolutionary' groupuscules and the resurgence of 'left-wing' fascism: the case of France's Nouvelle Resistance

This book examines a wide array of phenomena that arguably constitute the most noxious, extreme, terrifying, murderous, secretive, authoritarian, and/or anti-democratic aspects of national and international politics.