Class warfare and socio-economic exclusion: the political-institutional consequences of left-wing terrorism

Daniel Meierrieks

EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, 2026, issue Latest Articles, 30 pages

Abstract: Using panel data for 168 countries from 1970-2008, we investigate how left-wing terrorism affects socio-economic exclusion. We find that higher levels of left-wing terrorism are robustly associated with increased political and economic participation of the poor, whereas no such relationship emerges for nationalist-separatist or Islamist terrorism. These results align with a conceptual framework in which governments respond to destabilization generated by left-wing terrorism with inclusionary policies tailored to address left-wing grievances; such measures are expected to weaken popular support for left-wing militancy and thus reduce future terrorist activity. At the same time, we show that left-wing terrorism does not induce broader institutional reforms – weakened property rights or expanded public ownership of the economy – that would reflect maximalist left-wing objectives. Overall, our findings suggest that terrorism can be effective in prompting targeted institutional adjustments, but it is not a viable strategy for realizing far-reaching political change.

Keywords: Socio-economic exclusion; left-wing terrorism; terrorist ideology; counter-terrorism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D74 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:espost:343497

DOI: 10.1080/10242694.2026.2651953

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