Pour les sociétés démocratiques, le terrorisme représente une menace exceptionnelle. Exceptionnelle, d’abord, parce qu’un Etat n’est pas face à une menace traditionnelle telle qu’une déclaration de guerre adressée par un autre Etat. Exceptionnelle ensuite parce parfois – souvent dans le cadre du terrorisme basque –, elle implique ses propres citoyens. Exceptionnelle, enfin, parce que pour aussi extraordinaire que soit cette menace, les éléments précédents imposent à la Démocratie de se protéger avec les armes mises en place dans des circonstances ordinaires, par des procédures ordinaires, contre des menaces ordinaires. Il s’agit ici de la contradiction fondamentale qui apparaît à l’étude des appareils mis en place par des Etats démocratiques afin de se protéger contre le terrorisme.Dans cette perspective, l’étude du cas basque présente des singularités appelant à s’interroger sur les effets du terrorisme sur la construction de la démocratie. La lutte contre le terrorisme basque est en effet née dans le cadre d’un Etat dictatorial qui n’a pas hésité à user de tous les moyens contre cet ennemi. Elle s’est poursuivie alors que l’Etat Espagnol opérait une transition vers la Démocratie, et a perduré au-delà, alors que nombre d’indicateurs tendent à valider le caractère démocratique de son nouveau régime. La question qui se pose alors est de savoir dans quelle mesure la permanence d’une lutte contre un ennemi sur lequel les changements de régime n’ont eu que peu de prise a influencé la perception de cet opposant et les moyens internes et de coopération interétatique mis en œuvre pour lui faire face. / For democratic societies, terrorism represents an exceptional threat. Exceptional, firstly, because the State does not face a traditional threat such as a war declaration sent by another State. Exceptional, secondly, because sometimes – often regarding Basque terrorism – it involves its own citizens. Exceptional, eventually, because although it is an extraordinary threat, the previous elements call Democracy to protect itself with the weapons set up under ordinary circumstances, through ordinary processes, against ordinary threats. It is a genuine contradiction in the study of the apparatus set up by Democracy in order to get protected from terrorism.In this perspective, the study of the Basque case presents specificities that lead to question terrorism’s effects on the construction of Democracy. The fight against Basque terrorism was born in the framework of a dictatorial regime, which did not hesitate to use any means against this enemy. It continued, while the Spanish State was operating a transition towards democracy, and kept on going while many indicators appeared to confirm the democratic nature of the new regime. A question arises: to which extent the permanency of a fight against an enemy insensitive to the regime changes influenced the perception of this opponent, but also the internal means and those developed through international cooperation to face it.

Violence is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Drawing on the disciplines of Political Science and Public Health the purpose of this study is to understand the conditions that determine political traction for the issue of violence and facilitate the adoption of a strategy of prevention. Using multiple-case study methodology, it draws on data collected from 42 in-depth semi-structured interviews, eight weeks of direct observations and more than 200 pieces of documentary evidence to examine violence prevention policy development in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, Jamaica and the Republic of Lithuania. The Shiffman Public Health Policy Priority Framework is applied to identify the factors that influenced the advancement of violence prevention policy in each case and to draw cross-case comparisons. The employment of this public health specific framework in the field of violence prevention allows the study to reach conclusions as to the utility of this framework for broader public health policy analysis and to proffer some refinements. Further findings suggest that bringing together academics, advocates and policy- makers into networks, focused on a shared concept of violence, gains political traction for the issue of violence and a strategy of prevention. It is found that the conceptualisation of violence and perception of prevention are framed in a case specific historical context and that an examination of this context is necessary to understand the conditions that shape the status of violence prevention policy. The results suggest that the development of violence prevention policy in other countries would be expedited by the coalescing and informed engagement of the violence prevention policy community in the web of institutions, interests and ideas that underpin the public health policy process.