1. Introduction

The present research is based on the analysis of the several phases that create the complex process of Proselytism-Enticement-Recruitment, through the exploitation of New Technology, diffused on the market at a large scale, from the year ‘90s.

In fact the strong social impact created from the spread of technological and informatics instruments has modified in a short time the way of communication-exchanges and according to the most diffused international doctrine[1-2], this can be considered the input for the development of more sophisticated and modern forms of criminality: computer crimes[3]; as well as the technological component may offer new opportunities to pre-existent social forms of deviance: for ex. terrorism[4]. This typology of instruments in fact has specific features that are flexible enough to adapt themselves to the needs of (national and international) terrorist movements, as the technological component supplies a certain level of anonymity in the internal/external(to the single organization) communication-exchanges, facilitating the clandestine status and at the same time simplifying the wide subversive activity, beyond any spatial-temporal barriers. The consequence is a detailed analysis of the importance attributed by the Red Brigades (RB) to the selection oftechnological instruments, with the aim of strengthen its “proselytism-recruitment campaign”, through a real complex procedural iter. The result is a process able to produce a careful selection of potential adepts, as the best “terrorists”: behavioural coherence to the ideology and subversive skills. In these terms, it is possible to talk about “proselytism”, intended as the form of wide-range diffusion of extreme political ideologies at the base of the RB organization through a propagandistic goal. The second step is the so-defined “enticement”, intended as the “first-touch” between the most interested and attracted subjects for the extreme ideology and the internal members of the RB movement. In other words, the adepts who want to establish communicational channels and develop closer relationships with terrorists. This willing can be justified from both an ideological conviction of the single potential adept, as well as from the intention to be an integrated part of a subversive movement, expressing in this way the single person inclination to a violent activism skill. Finally the phase of “recruitment” is the real “qualitative improvement”, where a person, whether assessed adequate for the position, officially acquires a role and becomes member) of the terrorist organization.

From this perspective, therefore it is possible to understand how the New Technology has also the role of “trans-generations bridge and liaison”, supposing that the instruments exploited by RB in its “recruitment campaign” attract in particular the “new generation”: indoctrination of “new members”, as the perpetuation of an ideological-subversive tradition that is transmitted from father to son.

Finally, from a methodological perspective, this research can be defined as an explorative and qualitative study, based on cross-information sources, as result of the interaction among the data collected from the most diffused international Doctrine, Participant Observation of the subversive and extremist (Left-wing and Anarchic) web-sites, as well as privileged witnesses interviews (Structured Interviews) with public security agents Italian D.i.g.o.s.) and informatics experts. The aim is to evidence and valuate the typology and the modality in exploiting technological and informatics instruments, object of several confiscations by the public security forces.

In the light of this explanation, it is essential also to underline that the present research has the intent to focus the attention on an extreme Left-wing political terrorist organization (Red Brigades), but the methodological model used for the present study is applicable to any kind and form of extremist, subversive and terrorist movements or organizations, both at a single Nation or International level, in its violent expressions (ideological and pragmatic).

The result reveals how the assessment between Terrorism and New Technology is at the moment still at an explorative level, as there is not yet at an international level nor a defined model, neither a statistical collection-data criterion (quantitative perspective), able to define the “dimension” of the Terrorism/New Technology phenomenon. Besides it is important to underline that till now, a systematic prevention-repression program is not structured yet, or at list a strategy of control the impact of technological components and instruments on the subversive activity capability (intended as any kind of terrorism form, from an ideological point of view: political, religious, ecological, social and so forth). List but not last, few are the researches, both from a quantitative and qualitative perspectives, about the psychological dynamics that progressively develop the criminal choice to become and be a “terrorist”, related to the complementary sociological consequences.

2. Definition of “Red Brigades” and “New Technology”

A detailed analysis of the psychological processes that are involved within the proselytism, enticement and recruitment activity through technological instruments from the Italian terrorist organization of RB, cannot avoid a due premise on the definition and contextualization of the two variables, object of the present research:

Ÿ Political Terrorism of Red Brigades

Ÿ New Technology

In particular the concept of “Terrorism” on the international scenario is certainly inhomogeneous and disharmonic. This discrepancy among the sources is justified by the fact that both the sociological-psychological-criminological sciences and the legal sources of each single Nation (State) utilize different approaches against this peculiar macro-criminological phenomenon (Terrorism).

The main problem to create a unique and internationally accepted definition of Terrorism is due to the fact that this phenomenon is a “pathological” expression belonging to a specific culture of reference in a given historical period and within a single State border or a topic geographical area. In fact, in concrete terms, this concept is clearly defined by Bassiouni, when he declares: “One man’s terrorism, is another man’s heroism”[5].

The socio-criminological theories in fact underline how at each given phenomenon of social deviance, the society reacts attributing a qualification to the single person (“label”) with a declared qualitative meaning, able to satisfy the social expectations[6]. Therefore, according to the s.c. “labelling theory”[7], subversive movements internal activists may have a double role: “terrorists” for the opponents, they are at the same time “heroes and freedom fighters” for the supporters of the ideological background[8-9].

The prevalent psychological approach instead expresses a different opinion, although few are the researches and studies on this topic, as to the “terrorist” (term) is attributed a strictly negative meaning: defined as a “fanatic”, in the light of his/her total “habit” and “dependence” to the extremist ideology at the base of the subversive movement, exploited as “credo” belonging to a group, to justify the single internal members frustrations and psychosis[10-11].

In the light of the several mentioned perspectives, to explain this phenomenon, it is relevant to define “how” (definition criterion) and “what” (sic et sempliciter definition) is intended for “Terrorism” in this research: “Terrorism” is therefore qualifiable as a form of “pathological” expression related to a peculiar ideology, supported by a group of people or a single person. This particular “credo” should be analysed in the light of a specific context of reference: often where is oppression (of any nature), there is probable that “Terrorism” develops. Besides, when an idealism becomes ideologism, the extremism lies hidden in the dark side (underground) of the social “network” and “Terrorism” becomes the vehicles of diffusion.

In other words, in the present study “Terrorism” is intended as a form of rebellion against a condition perceived as unjust from some subjects, as it is felt as a limit to their freedom, both as individuals and community. Therefore activists are those that perceive an oppression strong enough to justify even the violence and the threat against innocent and/or accidental “targets”.

In concrete it is essential to underline that the progressive evolution through the decades of subversive activities from an historical perspective, has led to develop a wide typology of ideologies, as background of the “Terrorism”: political, religious, separatist terrorism, eco-terrorism, cyberterrorism, bio-terrorism, narco-terrorism and so forth. For this reason, the doctrine largely accepted definition describes terrorism as “a strategy of violence to promote desired outcomes by installing fear in the public at large”[12-13].

The present analysis has the aim to focus its attention on a specific type of Terrorism from an ideological perspective, as the focus is the Italian terrorist organization s.c. “Red Brigades”, e.g. a subversive movement, typical expression and exemplification of what is generally defined as terrorism with a political matrix.

In details, after the Second World War till the first half of the year ‘60s, the economical growing has contributed in creating certain stability within the social substrate. After the second half of the Sixties, at the end of the s.c. “economical boom” of the post-war period, a progressive feeling of disillusion causes an atmosphere based on a diffused tension among the community. The birth of the “student movement” in reality is the pretext to express a deep social and political malaise. The ever-growing demonstration and manifestation of protest against the Institutions consequently represent the mirror of a shattered situation within the context of Political Parties in Parliament. The difficulty in creating a real “battlefield” among the political forces within the legitimate Institutions is the origin of the development of extremist movements both between the extreme Left-wing ideologies and the extreme Right-wing ones. In fact a wave of bombing sabotages between Rome and Milan officially opens in Italy the s.c. “Anni di piombo” (“bullets/fire years”) – 1970 – [14].

This is the sociological-ideological context in which the Red Brigades is born, grows and develops, till to become openly and clearly an extreme Left-wing political terrorist organization (the s.c. “red terrorism”), able even at the present time to penetrate into the social “network”, as demonstrated by the recent crime news (murder of the Prof. Massimo D’Antona – 1999 and Prof. Marco Biagi – 2002).

Essential for the present research is the analysis of the s.c. “New Technology” further variable, which has influenced, through the most recent years, the evolution of the means and selection criterion by the Red Brigades organization in developing a proselytism and recruitment campaign. In fact the technological component has improved new opportunities to this subversive movement to facilitate the success of its aim from the year ‘90s: to re-build the Red Brigades organization with the same subversive expression, as well as the same diffusion on the national territory, typical features of this terrorist group in the course of its most violent capability period (1972-1978).

In details, when the doctrine describes the New Technology, it expresses a general and generic concept to define a wide spectrum of instruments related to what is nowadays defined as IT (Information Technology). Because of this versatility in components and functions, the doctrine has not yet found a unique definition also in this context, even because of a very rapid technological evolution, as well as a wide diffusion on a large-scale.

In fact the predominant theories at the moment define two different fundamental typologies of New Technology to describe this general concept:

“New Technology”, intended as new mass-media of communication channels, that exploits the informatics components (hardware and software), which characterize the s.c. IT (Information Technology)[15].

“New Technology”, intended as mass-destruction weapons, new and more sophisticated evolution of the offensive instruments within the war and strategic matter, in the light even of the most recent international tensions within the last years. The doctrine defines in a specific way these new armaments, the s.c. “CBRNE” weapons (Chemical, Bio/Bacteriological, Radiological, Nuclear weapons and enhance Explosive material)[16].

The New Technology within the strict context of the present analysis is principally referred, although not exclusively, to the first category of this scientific phenomenon, it means it focuses its attention on the exploitation of New Technology, intended as brand new communication channels, through the use of the instruments that characterize the s.c. IT. In details, the present research has the aim to underline “how” the Red Brigades address their strategy towards specific selected New Technology components, with the aim to consolidate an effective Proselytism-Enticement-Recruitment activity, atta- rcting in this way new adepts inside the terrorist movement.

3. Proselytism

Once defined the main variables that characterize the “frame” of the present research, it is possible to focus the attention on the strict context of the Red Brigades terrorist movement.

In particular, this study intends to carefully examine the several passages of the whole process on the base of which is built the “proselytism and recruitment campaign” of new adepts inside the subversive movement. In fact the choice of finding new internal members is a fundamental decision for any extremist group, as integral part of the whole “strategic policy”, as it is an objective need to enlarge the number of the internal adepts, as well as external supporters to the organization itself (ideological and/or empirical logistic). In other words, it is referred to those subjects that in the course of the Red Brigades history have been qualified as “regular forces” (internal activists) and “external forces” (external supporters) to the movement.

A systematic approach implies an in-progress analysis, aimed to identify, as first step, the instruments exploited by the Brigatists to carry on the proselytism activity and then in details to evaluate the psychological modalities and implications about the use of those instruments towards possible adepts to entice in the further phase.

In details, the present research has done a carefully valuation of the several technological instruments exploited, in the light of the material object of confiscation by the Italian public security forces in the course of two determined operations against the Red Brigades organization: the fire-encounter between Nadia Desdemona Lioce and Mario Galesi against the Pol.Fer (train railway company police) on the Rome-Florence train on the 2^nd March 2003, ended with the dead of Mario Galesi and the arrest of Nadia Desdemona Lioce. In the course of this event several informatics material have been confiscated (mobiles, PDAs, floppy-disks, weapons and so on), as the mentioned two Brigatists are considered the “brain” of the “new Red Brigades”. The second event is characterised by a wide police (D.i.g.o.s.: special operations forces police) round-up at a national level on the 24^th March 2003, that brought to the arrest of several exponents internal to the subversive movement and the confiscation of further informatics and technological material: laptops, PCs, mobiles, PDAs and so forth[17].

The whole material belonging to the Red Brigades analysis has contributed in understanding how the Brigatists conceived a real procedure to get new “regular and irregular forces”, supported by a real internal “behavioural code” completed with a set of sanctions to punish those Brigatists who failed to comply the rules or behaved in a way that could create a risk to the other internal members.

In particular the proselytism phase has always been of a great importance for the Red Brigades from an historical perspective and even the “new generation” focuses its attention on this aspect. This element is proved by the fact that the RB decided to choose a real set of technological and non-technological instruments, aimed to amplify the political ideology at the base of the terrorist movement (propaganda). In general terms, it is possible to classify “traditional” instruments of proselytism, identifiable with leaflets and clandestine journals (for ex. La Voce = The Voice) drafted by several members contributions (many exponents of this organization live abroad, as they belong to the “old guard” of the group, therefore hiding from the Italian justice), “claim documents” and “open letters”. These propagandistic instruments have been integrated with brand new and alternative instruments, which exploit the New Technology phenomenon: this is the case of Internet and its connected services (Web-sites, Chat-groups, E-mails and so on).

In the light of the previous explanation then, it is important to underline how the technological component, that mostly is exploited in this phase of new adepts selection and contextual spreading of the terrorist ideology, is represented from the use of web-sites on Internet, as mass-diffusion means. In fact the choice of this instrument is not accidental, whether the starting point is the presupposition that Internet is considered a new mass-media by now, a new communication channel that has the advantage to eliminate any spatial-temporal barrier: it is possible to use it, under the availability condition of a computer connected to the “net” (Inter-net), by anybody in any time and in any place. The consequence is that the choice of this instrument is able to transfer messages and texts diffusion at a wide range, guaranteeing at the same time a certain level of anonymity to those that spread certain extremist ideologies, as they are “filtrated” from the informatics instrument itself.

The Red Brigades of new generation in fact have created an official web-site (www.brigaterosse.org) and a connected e-mail (info@brigaterosse.org), at the begin freely accessible from anybody on Internet and then confiscated from the Italian Postal and Telecommunication Police in Milan. Despite this police forces intervention, in reality the RB has exploited the free circulation of information on Internet, as far as the doctrine defines nowadays the s.c. “(dis)information warfare”, that is to say a real war of (dis)information, as a brand new strategy belonging to the “modern wars”[18-19].

In particular the Brigatists’ ideas have found a natural facilitator component within the galaxy of Web-sites that easily are accessible on Internet, as they represent the political subversion of extreme Left-wing universe in the cyber-space.

On the mentioned subject, several are the web-sites that focus their attention on this political topic, also in an extremist form, legitimate from the idea that Internet can guarantee a certain level of anonymity, through the use of “nicknames” and “alter-ego” identities, by the individuals that are even perfectly integrated within the social context of reference.

In the light of this explanation, it is important a valuation also of the psychological impact that these web-sites have on potential adepts to “entice” and in a second time in case “recruit”, as regular or irregular forces inside the RB group. The utilized analytical approach is based on the detailed study of the features that create a “fil-rouge” among the several web-sites characterized for extremist political subject with a strong connection with the Brigatists’ ideologies (Ex. of Left-wing matrix we-sites: http://isole.ecn.org; www.kontrokultura.og, www.noglobal.org and its connected e-mails: info@noglebal.org, www.meratiesplosivi.com, www.disinformazione.it, www.informationguerrilla.org, ecc.). Consequently the possibility to schematize the components that mostly can create impressionability on an unaware or aware “user” of this specific typology of web-sites, can be done as follow:

Colours

Sounds and voices

Drawings, photos, moving images and videos

Symbols and slogans

Language

Concepts and ideological content

A separate analysis of each component is essential to valuate the psychological impact of the mentioned elements. For this reason, it is important to begin the assessment from the component that has the strongest visual impact on the “receptive individual” that “visit” this kind of web-sites, i.e. the range of colours, carefully selected and combined in a way that creates a shock-effect that catches the curiosity and the interest to go deeper and read also what is written on the “home-page” on the PC screen. In the light of this explanation, therefore the outstanding colours are red, black and white. Three primary colours, among which two basic-colours, also defined as non-colours (black and white), as they characterize the “frame” of the strong visual effect given by the red colour. Besides the black and white are chosen as background of the web-site “page”, with the aim to put in evidence in a more effective way the red-coloured parts that reveal the details, visually underlying the aggressive style of the linguistic-conceptual content of the web-site. The red colour has a double meaning: on one side it has a symbolic character, as in the Italian political history it is associated to determined and defined political ideologies; on the other side then it has the further value of relationship between colour-emotion, from a common-sense perspective: i.e. blood, violence, death, passion, strength and so on. This second interpretation is also proved by the fact that in the common language in Italy there is the expression “to see red” (“vedere rosso”), referred to a person that acts under a strong emotional pressure (anger, aggressiveness and so forth).

Another strong-impact component is the exploitation of recorded sounds and/or voices, although it is not always present in every web-site of this type. It is important to evidence the fact that the underground “world” of extreme Left-wing political trend has always given a great importance to the music, as already proved in the course of the year ‘70s, because some extreme political movements have often created their own radios, both to spread their propagandistic messages and to create their own alternative to the official communication channels, recognized within the “civil society”. This historical vehicle of diffusion and ideological expression never stopped and in many web-sites is present a direct “link” with radios (for ex. RaioLina dell’etere), run both by extremist groups (for ex. Black-Block) and by those movements that share the ideological background itself (for ex. Social Centres). Therefore the musical background is that of the s.c. rap music, typical expression of the Afro-American community living in the ghettos or poorest suburban areas. This kind of music is made of repetitive, obsessive sounds completed with words (texts) that often represent social and political denounces. This type of sonority, in fact recalls those of the slogans, repetitively shouted or sung(with or without music accompaniment) in the course of public demonstrations or strikes.

Furthermore there is a strong connection with the Latin-American music (for ex. the Inti-illimani music), which historical roots are recognized in the sharing of revolutionary and paramilitary guerrilla ideologies, which inspired the chiefs of the Red Brigades organization from the end of the years ‘60s up (Curcio, Franceschini, Cagol, Pelli). This kind of music often contents the description of the campesinos (peasants) life and the poor conditions of the South-American populations (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru), used to survive with the agriculture or working as labours in factories. This is the target that perfectly mirrors the addressees of the Red Brigades ideologies from the years ‘70s.

It is therefore essential to attribute the proper importance to the auditory impact, made of repetitive and cadenced rhythms that create an acoustic-addiction, as the words and the text of the song itself are easier to remind also at an unconscious level.

The same importance has the exploitation of drawings, photos, moving images and videos. In particular, the drawings are often useful to put in evidence the written texts of different length, with the further aim to underline the importance of the inner message that is intended to be spread (for ex. the drawing of a guy with a megaphone in his hand on the “home-page” of a web-site: www.noglobal.org). The drawings often are coloured and not in black-and-white, exactly to focus the attention on a specific written part that completes the drawing itself. In alternative there are also computer graphics made of moving images, where the movement itself of the drawing is an integral part of the subliminal message. This is the case for example of the drawing that advertises a public demonstration in front of a particular and symbolic Institution (ex. American Embassy), where there is a moving person that invites and underlines the request to actively take part to this demonstration. Furthermore beside this image there is specified the place, day and hour of the public demonstration.

The photos have often the role of specific facts “historical archive” of particular importance: public demonstrations where important exponents of the movement were present, as supporter of the common ideology or to demonstrate the high number of people who took part to a specific demonstration, coming from different Italian Regions. The photos have also the further value of “social denounce”, for example in the case of a public demonstration that ends with a violent encounter with the public security forces. In this case in fact, the photos often represent police agents with rubber truncheons in their hands or when the security forces violently block and isolate a particularly dangerous and aggressive demonstrator or again demonstrators with a bloody face after violent encounters and so forth. This kind of photos are obviously carefully chosen and taken, as their aim is to give an unilateral version and description of how the public demonstration developed, but not certainly the objective historical description of the fact itself. So that in the course of public demonstrations, the public Institutions are symbolically represented by the public security forces, which means they appear as impotent in front of the compact strength of the demonstrators or on the contrary it is stressed the violent reaction of the police agents, presented in a way that seems to be disproportional to the offence of the crowd of riotous demonstrators (For ex. violent encounters between demonstrators and police agents in the course of the G8 in Genoa, Italy): “victim-executioner” effect. Sometime the photos are selected from the national newspapers and once showed on the web-site, they are commented in a positive or negative way, according to the specific message that is needed to spread under these circumstances: it is possible to speak about “denounce-photos” or “symbolic-photos” (icons).

Finally the videos are the result of recorded images through a simple mobile, in the course of public demonstrations. Therefore also in these cases, they are object of purely subjective perceptions of the demonstrators, so that the images are cut and censured according to the ideological message that is intended to be diffused: the explanation is the same given to the photos.

The videos then can also represent particularly important events or simple witnesses or interviews to internal members/supporters, for example the Social Centres with an obvious propagandistic goal of the ideological background. The mentioned messages are then diffused on and through Internet, as it is possible to see in the web-sites, with the aim to spread ideologies or to advertise public demonstrations of different kind, able to stress the qualitative and quantitative capability to attract ideological supporters.

Particularly important then are the symbols and slogans, being historically traditional communication channels exploited by the Red Brigades since a long time. This aspect is proved by the fact that for more than thirty years, the RB has always kept the same identical symbols, becoming a sort of signature through the decades, nearly to “frozen” the ideological background at the base of this organization. Unavoidable is the reference to the “five-points star within a circle”, which iconographic strength has been inherited from the Tupamaros’ symbol from Bolivia, revolutionary paramilitary guerrilleros (fighters), enlisted among the campesinos living in the poorest villages in the countryside of the Latin-America[20]. This symbol is so deeply rooted in the galaxy of the political extremist culture to be exploited from other minor, compared to the RB, subversive movements, that use the icon of the “star within a circle” even just to express their ideological solidarity with the historical organization taken as model of imitation.

The slogans are further effective forms of propaganda, able to stress the political concept and the web-sites on Internet are full of these short sentences, sometimes in rhyme, with the aim to provoke mental association with the ideological background of reference and often completed with drawings, symbols that make more effective the subliminal remind, as they have a strong visual impact: for ex. “G8 State assassins”; “No-Tav”; “No-Vat”; “Yankee go home”; “Get out NATO from Italy” and so forth

Although already analysed in other contexts (slogans, songs texts, messages diffused through the radio-channel and so forth), the typology of language is particularly relevant as it is often created ad hoc, to stress the basic ideology and to be at the same time simple and effective: synthetic and colloquial vocabulary, slang expressions, dynamic syntactic, rhymes, assonances and oxymora, linguistic distortions are the fundamental instruments to create a subliminal and strong emotional impact language (for ex. “San Precario”; “Facciamo breccia”; “Sostegno alla resistenza Colombiana” and so on). In fact the several political matrix web-sites have some expressions that may be considered as the “lowest common denominator” and these words constantly are repeated in several different contexts: for ex. rebel, fight, sabotage, attack, presidium, crash, resistance, to block, to stop and so forth. Often the verbs are used at the imperative form (verbal time) to stress the categorical, official and peremptory value of the expression/action; or the verbs are conjugated at the first plural person present (we are, we have…), to stress the emotional perception of community, of the forces union/fusion and the sharing of the same ideology among the internal supporters, till the point to legitimate violent or subversive actions “in the name” of a “superior” cause. The punctuation also reflects and stresses the intrinsic message of the words: exclamation marks, question marks in rhetorical questions, double-dots to underline a series of (positive or negative) circumstances or events, dots as an “open” pause of reflection and so on.

Finally and in line with what has been previously explained, it is important to analyse the concepts and the ideological content, i.e. a global vision and assessment of the several components that have been described in this part of the research. The concepts are simple (as they are expressed) enough to be easily absorbed in their forms, but at the same time they are intense and have a strong impact in their contents, never forgetting their primary and final aim for any political movement: i.e. the ideological background of reference. The texts in fact should push the reader at list to comply with the ideology, in line with the expressed messages, underling the inefficiency of the Institutions, the social injustices, the lacks of the Government, the harassments by the State representatives and so forth (for further study about systematic researches and observations of subversive-terrorist web-sites, it is suggested the following bibliography: M. Strano, “Computer Crime”, Ed. Apogeo, Milano, 2000, pp. 42-49).

3.1. Psychological Profiling of the Potential “Terrorist” within the “Proselytism” Phase

At this point of the analysis, it is relevant to focus the attention on the target, from a subjective perspective. It means trying to create as much as possible, a s.c. identikit and a psychological profiling of the individuals that have a major inclination in identifying themselves with the ideological background or at list in general terms, with the content of peculiar extremist web-sites. In other words, it is necessary to valuate “who” can be attracted from this form of proselytism.

In primis, it is necessary to underline that in reality there are several variables that influence the single subjects in his/her process of supporting a defined ideology. Besides, from this perspective, it is possible to classify this kind of support as a “multi-level” one, because of the factors that determine the ideological choice in an individual, vary from a person to another. A systematic approach in the present research requires the drafting of a scheme on the several typology of individuals that can be interested or attracted from a proselytism activity in this topic context, run through the exploitation of technological instruments (Internet).

In the light of the previous premise, the psychological mechanism that joins the individuals, beyond any personal intimate existential experience, is the “subliminal impression”, that in peculiar persons creates a sort of “dependence”, both in the technological instrument and in the ideological content which characterizes the proselytism and propaganda activity by the subversive movement. From this perspective, the “subliminal impression” can be defined as the acquisition of feelings, representations, ideas, convictions or impulses that are absorbed by the person through the emotional (irrational) channel and not from the rational (cognitive) one. The premise to make this psychological phenomenon possible is the necessary emotional predisposition able to alter or weaken his/her own assessment capability. The consequence is that under the suggestion action, the capacity of critical control of each person is enfeebled, in the way that the subject accepts convictions that otherwise he/she would refuse and reject and he/she is able to act in a way that in different conditions he/she would never commit[21].

In the light of this explanation, it is possible to evidence a basic distinction, underling that the following classification has not the pretension to be exhaustive, as in the realty it is possible to recognize the co-existence of the two different categories at time:

Ÿ Individuals “subliminally impressed” form the modality of proselytism (means and instruments)

Ÿ Individuals “subliminally impressed” from the content of proselytism (expressed ideologies)

The first category contains identities which perceptive focus is particularly attracted from the means and instruments selected with the aim to make more effective the propaganda strategy: i.e. Internet and the connected web-sites. Anyhow a general survey allows to evidence specific features of this kind of persons:

young person (between 17-30 years old)

skill in the use of PC and in particular a great ability in exploiting Internet

propensity to face the risk connected with the “navigation” in the galaxy of extremist matrix web-sites (consciously perceived or not-perceive)

perception of a certain level of “anonymity” factor through the use of Internet on the real physical identity of a subject or the identifiably of a person from other individuals (alter-ego effect or double-life/identity)

The mentioned and shortly explained factors can be considered the components that determine the “first-touch”, in the choice of certain individuals to select and then access to extremist matrix web-sites.

The second category is based on a more detailed focus of analysis, although the unavoidable premise is that the person needs to know how to “navigate” on Internet, consequently he/she consciously research specific web-sites with a specific topic, i.e. individuals interested in the expressed ideologies at the base of certain web-sites:

political matrix of the contents

interest or attraction for the radical and/or extreme opinions

interest for an “alternative” answer to the socio-political problems

interest in joining a “social cause”

interest for the pragmatic information (for ex. date and place of public demonstrations, strikes and so forth)

The spectrum of components that influence the choice of an “user” are therefore countless, as well as their interaction, creating in consequence an X number of variables that push a person to “approach” the openly expressed ideologies of the mentioned extremist web-sites[22].

The mentioned aspects can be defined as “endogen”, as they are unilaterally addressed to the single subject. Furthermore there are other and complementary components that can be defined as “hexogen”, that in some way they “simplify” the choice by the individual in “visiting” with more or less regularly, the subversive matrix web-sites, i.e.:

limited capability of the public security forces to investigate on Internet

existence of web-sites s.c. “anonymizer” that presumptively allow an anonym “navigation” on Internet, about the possibility in recognizing the “identity” of the PC connected to the Inter-net(work) (through the identification of the s.c. IP = Internet Protocol)

lack of limitations factors or sanctions against the access to ideological extremist web-sites (deterrent/repressive value)

The mentioned list has also a non-exhaustive value, but merely indicative and exemplificative, because of both the investigative strategy and protocol of the public security forces on Internet, as well as the exploitation by the subversive terrorist organizations is constantly evolving and developing its capability.

In the light of the mentioned considerations, it is possible to underline that this first phase within the complex proselytism-enticement-recruitment campaign of new adepts, represents a single step, integrated part of a “funnel process”, as obviously not all the people that accesses to the subversive web-sites in a second time totally accepts to become “regular forces” within the terrorist movement. In fact the acceptance of a propaganda activity by an individual may also ends with a simple theoretical and philosophic sharing of an ideology, as external supporter to the movement (external logistic support). In other words, it is possible to identify a sort of “escalation” within the subversive capability and violent skills in an individual that creates a sort of natural and physiologic “filter” within the process of selection of new RB internal members (regular and irregular forces).

4. Enticement

The enticement represents the intermediate phase within the whole process to attract new members: activist inside the RB organization (regular forces) and “logistic supporters” that contribute in an empirical form in the course of the subversive actions (irregular forces).

It is essential to evidence how the D.i.g.o.s. has been able to “re-build” the whole procedural iter of selection of new adepts by the Red Brigades, through the analysis of the technological confiscated material.

In details, from a strict enticement perspective, the acquisition of new regular and irregular forces implies the lack of direct contact with the s.c. “hard nucleus” of the movement (Directive Committee), as the RB makes use of supporters, often s.c. semi-regular forces, that usually give a logistic support to the movement and keep the connections with the persons to recruit. It is as well essential to notice that from the most recent investigations, the adepts are young persons (new generation) that often offer their support in a spontaneous (emotional) way, qualified therefore as “volunteers”: they are ready to become Brigatists. In other words the first-touch and the first selection is done by the semi-regular forces inside the RB organization, afterwards they send the “candidatures” of those who seemed to be the best potential adepts, to the “leaders” of the RB, that give the final placet (approval) to the single “volunteer” to enlist. The pragmatic reason to use a sort of “filter” (semi-regular forces) between the chiefs of the RB and the potential adepts to recruit, is due to the fact that there is an objective necessity in keeping a high level of anonymity to protect the clandestine status of the most radical Brigatists, that devote their entire life to the survival of the organization itself[23].

The same reason of guarantying a certain level of security and protection to the identities of the Red Brigades “brains” is proved also by the careful selection of instruments with the specific aim to keep the connections within this delicate relationships chain. In details the New Technology supplies a useful contribution in reducing the grade of alea (risk) on the identification-probability of the subversive group leaders. The police investigators in fact have noticed that to reach the mentioned aim, the RB adopted specific instruments to run the enticement activity, i.e. principally the Chat-groups and the E-mails, two services supplied by the Internet technological component.

The Chat-groups may be defined as “discussion groups” (forum groups), where sometimes a topic is already given on which it is possible to freely express any opinion on it, other chat-groups instead have no precise topic, they are “open” to any kind of comment or opinion. The peculiarity of this system is due to the fact that the “users” of this (on-line) service, can exploit this communication channel under a total anonymity, as the majority of people expressing his/her opinion through chat-groups utilizes s.c. “nicknames” (fictitious identities) to participate to the forum groups on Internet. It is furthermore interesting to evidence how often web-sites with an extremist matrix have on their “home-page” also “links” to particular and specific Chat-groups.

The E-mails instead are forms of real “electronic mails/letters”, which means that knowing the (electronic) address of the addressee/s it is possible to send written texts, photos, documents and so forth, as any ordinary (postal) letter, the only difference is that the system is available through the use of Inter(net) (on-line service). Also in this case it is not necessary to know the (real-life) identity of the addressee, but it is merely sufficient to know the electronic address of the person is sending the mail/text to. Even for this instrument, as for the chat-groups, it is often possible to find on the “home-page” of extremist web-sites a direct “link” that gives immediately the e-mail to directly communicate with the (web) manager of this Internet “site”.

The access facility to the Chat-groups, as well as to directly contact the operative responsible/s through the E-mails, besides the constant guarantee of anonymity through the use of “nicknames”, allows a wide and broad access to any potential adept to recruit. Therefore, through the Chat-groups and the E-mails, first of all it is possible to assess the level of knowledge and then of support of a single person to the ideological background of reference. In the same way, the “users” that express themselves towards a specific ideological topic, feel totally “free” through the use of an informatics tool, till the point of inhibiting any possible reticence and expressing ideas and concepts also in an extreme and radical form. In few words, an “informal” and frank dialogue is settled, facilitated by the guarantee of anonymity through the use of the technological instruments.

Whether the conversation run through Internet has the time and condition to develop and deepen, a proper “contact/trust” will be improved (although not vis-à-vis yet), that will allow little by little to give details about the potential adept’s identity and personality, meant as a projection of the “Self”, outside the inner conscious, towards the external world[24]. Therefore, from generic and impersonal forum discussion, a “closer” connection will be developed through the e-mails channel, where the semi-regular forces can collect more detailed information about the person him/herself, object of the judgment.

The exploitation of the mentioned Internet instrument has also a further advantage, i.e. the saving of time, as the e-mail service is extremely rapid through the informatics channel, able to “send” hundreds of mails at one time in few minutes. In other words, it is possible to select a huge number of potential candidates, in a shorter time, whether compared to the one necessary for an ordinary vis-à-vis interview, so covering a wide spectrum of adepts coming from diversified contexts and locations of backgrounds.

4.1. Psychological Profiling of the Potential “Terrorist” within the “Enticement” Phase

At this point of the explanation, it is necessary to make an analysis from a subjective perspective, which means from the single potential adept point of view that candidates him/herself as “volunteer” to militate within an extremist movement. The previous chapter has explained how the use of technological instruments that guarantee a certain level of anonymity, facilitate the expression in a more informal terms, especially regarding the declaration of extreme and radical ideas, and in certain cases also violent. In other words, the individual reveals his/her own identity, without being disclosed the “physical” identity of the person him/herself in the strict sense of the word (“identity”). The mentioned circumstance facilitates the creation of a split personality phenomenon who assumes a peculiar “identity” on Internet and in the “real” life he/she has a totally different one. The escalation from a qualitative perspective, about the subversive capability of an individual is evident through the progressive “mix-up” of the two identities: which means when the “virtual” identity (ad hoc created on Internet) overlaps the “real” one, i.e. the one in the everyday life and what has been expressed just at a theoretical level, becomes in a second time concrete, also within the context of the “civil society” of reference.

In other words, the technological instruments become the communication vehicle with a great impact power, acting on the cognitive schemes of a single person, as it may induce perceptive alterations able to infer on the consciousness levels. After all, what at the very begin, may be felt as a “virtual game”, becomes in a second time a challenge against oneself and the limit keeps changing position, till the point of mixing-up the thoughts expressed in extremist web-sites with the actions carried out in the real life, entering a “taken-away-responsibility” mechanism, further on supported from a totalitarian ideological substrate[25].

In these terms, it is nevertheless important to underline how the total identification of the adept with defined extremist ideologies is not always followed by a manifestation of violent strategies in line with the expressed theoretical principles. After all, not always the “words” are followed by “facts/actions”, fortunately. It is right in this moment that the Red Brigades run a further screening on the potential candidate to recruit.

All through the “enticement” phase therefore, the contact-point between potential adepts and the internal members of the terrorist movement is identifiable with the ideological background, that creates an “emotional-addiction”, till the point of determines the measure of the single person “value”. In the line of this concept, the psychoanalytical theories by Jung may explain the unconscious dynamics, granted that this theoretical approach is based on the concept of “value”, defined as the force that an idea or an experience has on an individual, till the point of pressing the person to move towards precise and specific targets/objectives[26-27]. The consequent and “natural” question in the light of the mentioned psychoanalytical approach is, whether it is unavoidable to speak about “subjective-mental pathology” and it is effectively possible to prove a “trend” (inclination) for certain persons to express in an extreme terms extreme ideologies[28-29]. From an historical perspective analysis, it is possible to notice that through the decades the persons that became supporters of the Red Brigades never gave a clue of behavioural alterations evident enough to diagnose a real psychological or psychiatric pathology, in the strictly clinic/forensic sense. According to the Tarantelli’s analysis (1999), this conclusion is proved by the fact that many Brigatists, of the present and the past, have always run an “ordinary” life, also after an extremely restrictive prison/detention experience. Another explanation in line with a psychological theories approach is based on the idea that in reality there is a sort of “natural selection” or “self-selection” of those individuals that have an inner inclination in becoming supporters of extremist groups[30]. The explanation in this case is justified not from a single person perspective, but from a community (group of people) one. In other words, what a single person would not be able to do alone, is projected towards the “community/group” of reference. Therefore, once the single subject is influenced from the ideology and absorbed within a hierarchy and/or organization, he/she is going to lose his/her own individuality, as autonomous decision-maker person, scarifying his/her “Self” in the name of an idea (political ideology), on the base of which the person is available to commit also violent and aggressive behaviours. The Jung’s psychoanalysis defines this situation as a “collective unconscious”[31]. It means that the person is not stimulated only from his/her instinct, but even from his/her aims and ambitions, that in this strict context are transposed into the ideological background, addressed to the settlement of an “idealistic society”, based on equality and lack of social injustices: a sort of “utopian society”, that recalls the philosophical-political thought by Thomas More in his masterpiece “Utopia” (1516). The willing to reach this ideology is such strong to justify and legitimate any mean: “The end justifies the means” (Machiavelli)[32], may become the Red Brigades’ motto. In psychoanalytical terms therefore, the subjective “inner-projected” (intro-iettare) conflicts are then “projected-outside” (estro-iettare) towards a community, to be absorbed within a “superior cause”, used as excuse to solve the inner frustrations coming from an hostile surrounding background. The specific situation of the political terrorism, the hostility is perceived as coming from the Institutional (legitimate and legal) context, “deaf” to the diffused sense of malaise within a social legitimate community. In this term, the perspective that born within a strictly personal and individual context, is then shifted, focalizing its attention on a wider context of reference, according to the Adler’s theories on the “social psychology”: i.e. “no man is an island, but anybody should be analysed within his/her constant interrelation with his/her social context of reference”[33]. After all, it is in the light of this aspect that it is possible to find the inner motivations to support an ideology that goes beyond his/her personal needs, scarified for a “collective” or “social” reason that involves the general “wellness”, no more the single-subject one.

In conclusion, the study of this intermediate phase reveals that the individuals, supporter of an ideology, as verified from the semi-regular RB forces, can be classified within three main categories of Brigatists:

1- Ideological-Logistic Supporters (“irregular forces”)

Individuals characterized for an high level of identification with the extreme political ideology

Individuals characterized for a low skill in expressing violent and aggressive behaviours, as well as low inclination to behave as activists or subversive actors

Individuals that want to keep totally intact their status within the legitimate “civil society”

2- Empirical-Logistic Supporters (“semi-regular forces”)

Individuals characterized for an high level of identification with the extreme political ideology

Individuals characterized for a medium skill in expressing violent and aggressive behaviours, as well as medium inclination to behave as activists or subversive actors

Individuals that are not willing to live a clandestine life. They want to keep at list partially intact their status within the legitimate “civil society”

3- Adepts to recruit inside the organization (“regular forces”)

Individuals characterized for an high level of identification with the extreme political ideology

Individuals characterized for a high skill in expressing violent and aggressive behaviours, as well as high inclination to behave as activists or subversive actors

Individuals ready to scarify their status within the legitimate “civil society”, totally devoted to the ideological “cause” and with a strong willing to live a clandestine life.

5. Recruitment

1) adept – semi-regular forces (filter)

2) semi-regular forces (filter) – regular forces (leaders)

3) regular forces (leaders) – adept

The final result is a chain of information-exchanges that creates a pyramidal structure among the relationships within the recruitment process.

Once the semi-regular forces have transmitted to the leaders the names and connected information about the potential adept to recruit, the last passage is run through a vis-à-vis interview between the candidate and the internal members of the organization (regular forces), before the final decision about the concrete recruitment or not of the new potential member, as well as the most adequate role to attribute to this new activist. The D.i.g.o.s.’ roundups have also brought to the discovery of a real behavioural code that included a downright formal “honour oath”, once selected the new affiliate inside the RB organization: through this ritual was officially formalized the role/position of the new terrorist inside the movement within the internal hierarchy.

5.1. Psychological Profiling of the Potential “Terrorist” within the “Recruitment” Phase

From a subjective psychological point of view, the “terrorist career” of an individual is tested from “long-term” perspective. In concrete it means that usually a person that is able to commit extreme actions, such as bombings or murders. It implies that this subject passes through several phases, definable as a real “criminal escalation”, graphically represented as a longitudinal sequence of ant-social actions in the course of his/her life[34].

In fact the expression of extreme forms of violence is the final step of a criminal activity qualitative progression (in some cases also quantitative): significant is the clue that both Nadia D. Loce and Mario Galesi, the two “leaders” of the “new” RB, have a past as militants inside the Social Centres, exponents involved in several “demonstrations violent encounters” against public security forces in the course of public demonstrations and strikes.

Therefore it is possible to talk about a “split” of the terrorist personality, where his/her own private “history” (subjective perspective), as criminal career, at a certain point is mixed-up with the “history” of the terrorist organization to which he/she is affiliated (objective perspective). In few words the study of this anti-social behaviour may be analysed through two different approaches:

1. Focus on the single “terrorist”: it studies the psychological dynamic at the base of his/her criminal choice[35]

2. Focus on the “subversive movement”: which means it analyses the psychological dynamics at the base of the s.c. “collective violence or violence of pack” (collective = the sum of the individuals)[36]

1. The first approach is focused on the analysis of the individual as “terrorist”. Several researches have tried to give an explanation about the process of internal elaboration that leads a person to choose the “violence” as a modality to express his/her “Self”. Under this condition, it is possible to classify the different psychological theories that led to a systematic approach of the “terrorist” image. In this way two are the main psychological streams: the “psychoanalysis” (Freud) and the “social psychology” (Erikson). In particular the Freudian psychoanalysis has the aim to explain the subversive activist in relation with his/her psychological structure and the connected self-produced dynamic mechanisms of the “unconscious”, limited to the individual tout court [37]. The social psychoanalysis by Erikson instead focuses its attention on the valuation of the person related to his/her “social role” that assumes and the connected pressures and expectations that the society addresses towards the individual him/herself: the “terrorist” therefore is what he/she is because he/she projects towards an external “deviant” role his/her inner frustrations, as results of an identity conflict[38].

In the light of the mentioned premise it is possible to schematize three main categories on this topic[39-40]:

Ÿ “Frustration – Aggression” Theory

This theory focuses its attention on the concept according to which each given (pre-existent) frustration leads to a form of aggression. This philosophic stream finds its natural root within the psychoanalytical approach by Freud[41-43], according to which in a very first phase of analysis the aggressively was considered as a projection of the “libido” dimension and in a second time re-elaborated as component of the “Ego” impulses. The primitive impulses in the line of the Freudian theory are basically two: Eros (life) and Thanatos (death); the aggressiveness should be ascribed to the extreme expression of the self-destructive impulse of the single individual (death). On the base of this concept, the terrorist exploits an aggressive communication model, as answer to the frustration of several political needs and objectives that, from his/her perspective, cannot be reached through an “institutional” and/or “legal/legitimate” path. In few words he/she uses a sub-cultural and anti-social context through which direct his/her own values. Nevertheless the limit to this approach is given by the fact that it focuses its attention on the single person impulses, contextualized within a specific ideology, in the light of which it is possible to justify any kind of violent expression, but this theory is not able to explain the concepts of “hate” “fanaticism” and “prejudice” from a strict social perspective (social psychology).

Ÿ “Negative Identity” Theory

This perspective recalls the theories by Erikson[44] about the definition of the concept “identity”. It is important to evidence that the identity according to Erikson is something that keeps changing through the life of an individual, therefore the political terrorist assumes consciously an identity with a negative meaning, as attempt to express a form of “reject” against the role, which is the result from the individual’s family expectations, as well as the ones of the society/community. The violent behaviour therefore is the product of hate, social abandon and lack of alternatives feelings.

Ÿ “Narcissist Anger” Theory

This approach to the “terrorist” analysis recalls once again the theories by Freud[45-46], focusing the attention on the individual personality distinction within three categories: “Es” (unconscious: biological component), “Ego” (reality principle: psychological component) and “Super-Ego” (ethical values and social moral of the subject: moral and social component).

In accordance to this premise, a subversive and violent identity can be explained as the “mentally-disturbed-terrorist”. The narcissist anger is referred to the primitive stadium of development of a personality, when the “Super-Ego” should be re-dimensioned in the light of the reality, but in this topic situation the subject is going to become socially disturbed (sociopath), refusing any comparison with the reality. The result is a sense of defeat/victimisation, a “fertile” context to consolidate and grow an “anger” feeling. In few words, the “terrorist” adopts violent behavioural strategies as expression to attempt or keep power and control through the “ fear and terror tactic”.

A further characteristic to put in evidence within this context is represented by the s.c. “splitting” (split of personality): which means the mechanism belonging to a “border-line” person, afflicted with personality disorders, according to which he/she is a subject with a damaged “Ego” usually already in the course of his/her childhood, where the positive and negative parts of the ego are not correctly integrated and for this reason remain “split” (“Ego” and “non-Ego”). In this way the person develops a deep need to find an external “scapegoat”, which is the projection of his/her own inner conflict, as well as of his/her failures-unsuccessful in his/her everyday life. Nevertheless the critic to this psychoanalytical approach focuses its attention on the fact that many Brigatists in realty run an “ordinary” life, in the sense that they have their own profession, a medium-high level of education (diploma or degree), as well as a family, therefore at list apparently, they are socially integrated.

A last consideration from the mentioned analysis perspective is based on the fact that, although the psychological theories are not all unidirectional and concomitant about the explanation of the psychic inner dynamics belonging to the subject-terrorist and therefore unable to create a real “identikit” of the subversive individual, an help in reality is provided by the Brigatists themselves. In fact, through the valuation of the web-sites content with a propagandistic goal, it is possible to understand that there are some individuals categories that catch the attention focus, towards address the RB proselytism and recruitment campaign. The RB target, also from an historical-ideological perpetuation, is represented from that part of society that is considered “weaker” and therefore addressee of the worse social “injustices” (= inequality): students, workers, unemployed people, immigrants, beggars, homeless people and so forth.

2. In the light of the already mentioned theories, it is possible to notice that it is not sufficient the attempt to “explain” the “terrorist” through a pure single person analysis, as this criminal phenomenon is beyond the strict individual context, but it should be re-dimensioned to a wider “anti-social (and criminal) phenomenon” perspective with social and collective feedbacks. From this point of view, there is therefore a second focus to the psychological approach, that takes into consideration a parallel phenomenon and it is complementary to the “terrorist’s psychology” one, i.e. the psychology of the “terrorist movement” (collective violence).

Once clarified the psychological process that subtends the acceptation of a single “terrorist” to a terrorist organization, it is necessary to explain the dynamics that lead to a choice of this kind. In this situation, the doctrine has split defined common characteristics that may be noticed in a phase of transition from “subject-individual” towards “subject-organization” and can be classified as follow[47]:

Need to conform

Research of a sense of “belonging”

Examples: loyalty oath to the movement; behavioural code; common aim (collective strategy); group = alternative family; the creation of a “signature” to recognise the movement (“five-point star within a circle”) and so forth

Violent acts

Research of a “self-esteem” through the revolutionary heroism

Examples: publicity of the sabotages; murders claiming (claim documents of the Prof. D’Antona’s and Prof. Biagi’s murders) and so on

Rationalized violence

Reject against a confront with the “reality”, they detach themselves creating a “fantasy-war” (utopia)

Examples: to give an ideological/symbolic meaning to the brutal crimes, involving also innocent and accidental victims (bombings); the displacement of the reality, justifying each violent action through a “superior cause” reason; refusal of any confront with legitimate-legal Institutions, because whether accepted, it will lead to the death of the terrorist organization and so forth.

In other words, it is necessary to speak about a manipulation process of the single person identity that already begins within the proselytism phase and it is particularly event and deep in subjects that have a greater inclination of denying his/her “Self”, to be accepted within the organization: this is the most relevant price to pay to be affiliated to a terrorist movement, deny the “Ego”, transforming it as “Ego = Group”. This is the request that the regular forces ask for guaranteeing a total loyalty to the “companions”, as well as the total acceptance (whether not the identification itself) with the ideology at the base of the organization itself. It is therefore legitimate to talk about “collective illusion”, as defined by Anzieu (1971)[48], paranoid projection of an omnipotence delirium that leads to a false perception about the power to do anything, justifying it, till the point that the ideology “absorbs the entire universe” of the single person[49-50].

In other words, the realty is simplified and split within two “formations”: pro and against the ideology of the movement, towards which is projected the “goods” and the “evils” dimension, result of paranoid alteration of the “real”. Therefore the conflict is radicalized, as the internal exponents of the movement project their negativity towards the “other” that refuses to be part or oppose him/herself against the ideological background, being and feeling in this way menaced from his/her (mentally independent) power. It means that those who are outside the organization “dimension” become enemies to fear and the cause to (blindly) follow is perceived as an ideal to glorify. In this sense the terrorist movement becomes a “closed group”, directed to self-legitimate the violent action in the light of an immanent cause[51].

6. Conclusions

The considerations explained through the present research about the technological instruments, as brand new opportunities to strengthen the proselytism-enticement-recruitment process by the Red Brigades have revealed the importance that the “new generation” of Brigatists gives to the New Technology, intended as the set of instruments that supply new and alternative communication channels.

In fact, from this perspective, the analysis of the strategic choice by the RB can be clarified in the light of the researches run by Cornish[52] e Clarke[53-54] on the s.c. “Rational Choice Theory”, according to which the choice of a criminal strategy is taken on the base of a pure pragmatic assessment of “costs(risks)/benefits” that a criminal (in this case the terrorist) obtains choosing certain given instruments and/or tactics with the aim to reach the anti-social prefixed intent. In this specific context this analytical approach is valuated on the proselytism-enticement-recruitment process, which aim is to select the best candidates, able to militate and enlarge the logistic support within the movement (regular and semi-regular forces), as well as to guarantee an external support (irregular forces). It means that the concrete goal to reach is the one to create a “bridge” between the legitimate civil society, where it is possible to get an ideological support or new adepts to recruit, and the Red Brigades organization itself, loyal to its political matrix ideologies, in the light of which justify any form of violence and subversion to destabilize the credibility of the Institutional context.

New Technology therefore has a key-role in the evolution of Red Brigades strategies, as it facilitates the activity. The typology of the exploited instruments is principally the one of Internet and connected services:

Web-sites

E-mails

Chat-groups

They are brand new communication vehicles that guarantee a certain level of anonymity, fundamental component whether it is taken into consideration that the final screening is run by exponents (leaders) who live for the terrorist organization in a clandestine life. Besides they are selected as they are extremely practical in their use (laptops, PDAs, mobiles and so on), as these instruments can be easily transported anywhere and utilized at any time. Furthermore from the interpersonal relationships perspective, the New Technology focuses its attention on a specific target of individuals, considered as potential adepts according to the organization: the “new generation”, as it is exactly on this particular portion of the society that the RB invests their resources for a “recruitment campaign”, included the propaganda of the ideological background of the movement.

The reason is given by the fact that the RB is a terrorist organization which feature is a great flexibility, supported by a great dynamism in adapting its strategies to the changes of the Italian society through the decades. It is right this peculiarly that has allowed this movement to survive till the present time, from its origins in the year ‘70s. In other words, the RB has modernized its “form” (means and instruments), keeping intact the “content” (ideological background), as testimony of the continuity, guarantying a the same time the integrity of the political and terrorist matrix “identity” of the organization.

In the light of the valuations about the extremely-rational strategic definition of this terrorist movement, it is furthermore relevant to come to the conclusion about the psychological dynamics that lead an individual to choose a “terrorist career”. For this reason it is important to conclude that at the present time the researches on this subject have not been able to give a precise “identikit” of the “perfect terrorist” and also the psychological theories have problem in explaining the reasons that push a person to choose this kind of life-style.

The starting point of the prevailing doctrine is the exclusion of a “pathological” source, a “mental disease” from a clinical (forensic) perspective at the base of the choice to be part of this macro-criminal phenomenon. Therefore it is necessary to exclude even a “genetic or biological predisposition” of an individual to become “terrorist”[55-56].

In the light of the mentioned premise, it is possible to approach this topic through an a-contrario argument, which means focusing the attention on the question “what is” a terrorist on one side and on the other taking into consideration the whole set of variables that interact within the decision process of a person to be part of a terrorist organization, both from an ideological perspective (theory), as well as in the sense of being a violent activist (action).

The difficult aspect in “re-building” the personality of a “terrorist” is in the fact that in concrete it is extremely difficult (whether not impossible) to run long-term researches, especially valuating the “before” becoming terrorist and comparing this period of his/her life with the “after” one, which means the period of violent activism of the person (temporal projection)[57]. The impossibility in running the mentioned analysis, limits the scientific survey, because the person, taken as object of the study, is an individual who (in the majority of the cases) has already done a definitive decision, or even already militates within a criminal context since many years, becoming in this way integral part of the “terrorist organization” system and scarifying his/her own subjective identity in the name of an objective ideology, shared within a given community of reference (Red Brigades): Ego = Group[58].

From the mentioned perspective, it can help the multi-factorial criminalistics theories approach that focuses the attention on the “psycho-environmental integration”[59]. It is based on the idea that it is impossible to split the single “standard” factors within the “terrorist” identity (political matrix), but it is the intersection of a certain number of variables and (hexogen-endogen) conditions belonging to the same individual that, through their interaction, bring to the final decision: the “terrorist career”.

Nevertheless it is necessary to take into consideration that the considered variables have a circumscribed validity, as it is unavoidable to start form a subjective “(hi)story”, therefore the single person premise cannot be compared to another person ones, although there are some constants. In the light of what has been explained, it is essential to do a further consideration, which is also a warning for the willing to “explain” the psychology of the “terrorist”: two persons in the same condition may react in a different way (multi-finality); two persons with different presuppositions, may adopt the same behaviour (equi-finality)[60-63]. It is possible to affirm that each “terrorist” has his/her own name and surname, different and non-coincident with the “name” of the terrorist organization he/she becomes part of; each “terrorist” after all has his/her past and a present…his/her unique and personal (hi)story.

In conclusion the present research wants to evidence the importance to deepen the exploratory study of the Terrorist phenomenon and the connected psycho-emotional impact that the New Technology has having on this matter, till the point of “modernizing” the strategies of a macro-criminal phenomenon that gets its roots within the human history. In line with this explanation the present research starts from the already consolidated theories from the majority doctrine on the matter, to develop an “on the field” typology of study, through a monitoring of the extremist with radical ideologies web-sites. The aim in fact is to reveal the different forms of exploitation of the technological instruments, with the goal to fill the gap of pure theoretical approach, as it is not able to explain and justify, without an empirical survey support, the several modalities to exploit in a “distorted” (even criminal) way technological instruments accessible to anybody.

In fact the doctrine in this context (psychology, sociology, criminology) has devoted always a limited attention to the study of this topic, till the point that it is legitimate to affirm that little is known yet about the dynamics that subtend the Terrorism phenomenon, intended as an anti-social expression from a criminalistics perspective; as well as regarding the psychological processes that lead a person to the choice of becoming a “terrorist”, as anti-social manifestation from a clinical/forensic criminology perspective. Even more limited are the researches about “how” the New Technology is able to facilitate the terrorist activity, as well as the choice of becoming a “terrorist”.

In fact the willing to understand the Terrorism and the Terrorist means also to evolve the analysis and research methodology, in line with the evolution of this criminal phenomenon. Therefore it is no more sufficient to assess this subversive expression only from the pure historical- sociological perspective or using the classical theories of the psychoanalysis. It means that the moment has come to create new methodological approaches, in primis able to contextualize the “dimension” of this phenomenon, from an empiric point of view. In the light of the mentioned premise, it is furthermore important to underline the fact that nowadays there are no official data-bases about the impact that New Technology has on the national and international terrorist organizations. Besides few and full of gaps are the applications of informatics and technological instruments within the analysis of the brand new criminal phenomena committed through the exploitation of technological tools and especially through the use of services supplied by Internet (s.c. computer crimes). From this perspective, it is exactly the same technological instruments, exploited by the terrorist organizations as facilitators factors to commit the subversive activity, that should be the focus of the survey, first of all to understand and then to repress a Terrorism that is becoming integrated part of the Information Technology “virtual” world by now.

In conclusion it is possible to legitimately affirm how the analysis of the interconnection between Terrorism and New Technology is still a totally “open filed” for both a qualitative and quantitative survey, able to define and explain a phenomenon still quite obscure in its expressions by now, where the most extreme violence is justified in the light of ideals/ideologies that, whether considered from an objective perspective, have an high ethical-moral profile nature (Freedom, Justice, Equality and so forth), nearly to synthesize in once (unicum) the basic concepts of the “Good” and the “Evil”.