“No state responds to a terrorist campaign without modifying its institutions and therefore society itself, even if only slightly”, states Stephen Sobieck in his chapter on democratic responses to terrorism internationally in Germany. Politically motivated terrorism struck at the heart of both Germany and Italy in the 1970s and 1980s, forcing each state to do exactly what Sobieck claimed. Both countries, unfortunately, have suffered severe losses, infrastructure damage, and threats from right-wing and left-wing terrorist organizations that have pushed these countries to adopt political changes. This included restructured legislation, adding new laws and amending current laws. The political agendas and perceptions of both countries have caused significant complications that have affected each state's ability to manage the growing threat. The German political context has undergone intense rivalry between the two levels of government: the Bund (national government) and the Lander (states). Italy has had similar political struggles over the perception and ideology of terrorism affecting the country. The dominated Christian Democratic Party (DC), whose primary goal was to please public opinion, considered terrorism to be based on political interests. The two rival parties, whose strength grew in the late 1970s, included the Italian Communist Party (PCI) and the Movimento Sociale Italianino (MSI) party. It took five years for the Italian political classes to become seriously aware of the problem of terrorism. Faced with political party problems, both countries have used their security forces inappropriately. Each state had skilled and effective security units that were essentially ineffective with respect to the political agendas faced within the country. The GSG......at the center of the article......changing their societies.Works CitedStephen M. Sobieck, "Democratic Responses to International Terrorism in Germany", in David A. Charters (ed.) , The Deadly Sin of Terrorism: Its Effects on Democracy and Civil Liberties in Six Countries, 66.Luciana Stortoni-Wortmann, “The Police Response to Terrorism in Italy from 1969 to 1983,” in Reinares (ed.), European democracies against terrorism, 148. Donatella della Porta, “Institutional responses to terrorism: the Italian case”, Terrorism and political violence, 4: 4, 1992, 156-158. John E. Finn, Constitutions in Crisis. Political violence and the rule of law, 211.Sobieck, “Democratic responses to international terrorism in Germany”, 53.Stortoni-Wortmann, “The police response to terrorism”, 151.Ibid., 156-157.Sobieck, “Democratic responses to international terrorism in Germany,” 60-61.