Transformations of Terrorism (Daniela Richterova)

Did Eastern Bloc states “aid and abet” terrorism, as US politicians like Ronald Reagan charged? Declassified archives in postsocialist Europe reveal a much more complicated story, as Daniela Richterova (King’s College London) explains. In this episode of the Transformative Podcast, she tells Rosamund Johnston (RECET) how Czechoslovak officials could “talk and at times align” with violent non-state actors such as Carlos the Jackal and Abu Nidal, while never themselves orchestrating attacks and maintaining throughout such negotiations “clear red lines.” Reflecting upon the ways in which terrorist tactics changed over time, Richterova lays bare both the dynamism and prudence employed by Czechoslovak officials when dealing with those she terms “jackals.”

Daniela Richterova is a senior lecturer in intelligence studies at the department of war studies, King’s College London. Her first book, Watching the Jackals: Prague’s Covert Liaisons with Cold War Terrorists and Revolutionaries appeared with Georgetown University Press in 2025. She has also published in International Affairs, The International History Review, West European Politics, and Intelligence and National Security.