Terrorism has been one of the most important threats to peace, security and stability in many parts of the world. But what does this mean? What is the nature of this threat? What can be done about it and how can we at least limit the impact of terrorism?

Understanding the evolving landscape of extremism in the 21st century.

Recently, Europe was again shaken by some attacks. This ‘Elementair Deeltje’ places terrorism in a historical perspective and gives an up-to-date overview of this form of political violence.

During the 1980s and early 2000s, authors like Alex Schmid and Andrew Silke demonstrated the paucity of first-hand insights being used to study terrorism and the consequences this had for the reliability of the findings beings presented. But to what extent have these issues endured?

This project aims to improve understanding of, and responses to, the phenomenon of lone actors through analysis of comprehensive data on cases from across Europe.

Terrorism only poses a small risk to people but tends to be a major source of public fear. Through fear, terrorism has far-reaching implications for public governance.

It is in the interest of all democracies for young people to learn the value of free debate, even on sensitive and potentially divisive issues like terrorism, argue Thorbjørn Jagland (secretary general of the Council of Europe), Sayeeda Warsi (UK parliamentarian), and Francesco Ragazzi (Institute of…

In December 2014, Leiden University’s Institute of Security and Global Affairs with the Australian National University’s Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, commenced a research project to assess how (temporary) military interventions can best prepare…

Preventing terrorism before it happens seems like an idea no one would disagree to. But is it possible? How do counter-radicalisation policies look like? And are there dangers of unintended consequences? Francesco Ragazzi, Assistant Professor at Leiden University’s Institute of Political Science, has…

Comparing terrorist attacks with falling off a step ladder is absurd, writes Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn in NRC Handelsblad on 27 September 2017.

Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn teaches the masterclass terrorism 2018 together with Edwin Bakker. Read the interview here.

The MOOC Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Comparing Theory & Practice by Prof. Edwin Bakker, co-developed by the Centre for Innovation, has now attracted over 100,000 participants. It is the first MOOC of Leiden University to reach this magic number.

Are terrorist suspects willing to reintegrate back into society? Can they reintegrate?

Professor Edwin Bakker, director of the Centre for Terrorism & Counterterrorism, released his new book “Terrorism and Counterterrorism Studies: Comparing Theory and Practice”, published by Leiden University Press.

As schools in the U.S., students have to enter through security gates; schools in Belgium were forced to remain closed for several days after the attacks there; and even in the Netherlands various bomb scares have led to children having to stay at home. And yet fear of terrorism remains a difficult…

Could policies aimed at preventing radicalisation undermine the very trust and social cohesion they aim to strengthen?

You can find more information on the Dutch webpage. Click on the “Nederlands” button above.

The Europa Institute has invited Dorjana Bojanovska from Macedonia to visit Leiden Law School to conduct her master thesis research from 6 March - 31 March 2017. Dorjana is a student at the Comparative Constitutional Law program at the Legal Studies Department of the Central European University. The…

You can find more information on the Dutch webpage. Click on the “Nederlands” button above.

Scholars have long debated the intentions of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East. Some claim the organization supports terrorism, while others believe it is a positive force for democratization.

Can conspiracy constructions explain for hatred of the system? And if so, should conspiracy constructions be considered to be a risk in terms of national security?

You can find more information on the Dutch webpage. Click on the “Nederlands” button above.

The Netherlands Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Security and Justice have requested the Centre for Terrorism and Counterterrorism to complete a research project on cyber governance from a policy perspective. The results of this project will contribute to the deliverables of the fourth International…

Acquiring and maintaining public support is frequently cited as an important requirement for governments fighting non-state actors. But how exactly can public support influence the course of counterterrorism campaigns and thereby contribute to an escalation or de-escalation of violence?

Ragazzi, ‘Suspect community or suspect category?‘, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

How do European Muslim men and women become involved in a violent jihadist struggle abroad?

What does the daily life of those who travelled to Syria to join jihadist groups look like? Destination Syria, a new ISGA report, provides answers to this question

In this paper for Defence Strategic Communications, Alastair Reed and Jennifer Dowling seek to show the importance of historical narratives to propaganda by identifying and exploring five ways in which such narratives are exploited to reinforce the extremists' 'competitive system of meaning'.

The recent terrorist attacks in Europe are presumably not just acts committed by individuals, but acts facilitated by larger jihadist networks. But how do such networks operate? Understanding their modus operandi can be useful knowledge to counter terrorist threats.

Intelligence of the crowd, or in other words, intelligence of a large, random collective, exists mostly in social media platforms such as twitter. The collective does not comprise (at least not necessarily) experts on crises, just regular people mostly. Nevertheless, there is valuable intelligence to…

How do the pathways of Dutch converts to Islam involved in jihadist movements differ from those of Dutch converts who are not, in terms of their life prior to Islam, their conversion experience and the form of involvement with the Islamic community after conversion?

The research project ‘The History of National Security, 1945-present', is funded by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), the Campus The Hague/Leiden University and the Netherlands Institute for Military History (NIMH). The project will run until the summer of 2013, when we hope…

In 2012, the Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism and the Dutch Probation Service launched a reintegration project for offenders on probation or parole who were (suspected to be) involved in jihadist extremism or terrorism. The initiative's primary goal was to reduce the chance…

Terrorism experts Daan Weggemans (Leiden University) and Beatrice de Graaf (Utrecht University) conducted one of the first scientific studies on the societal reintegration of jihadist former detainees. They showed that the reintegration process isn't without problems. Their conlusions are presented…

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Political scientist Nicolas Blarel (Leiden University) analsyses how non-state actors can (directly or directly) attempt to provoke conditions for a crisis between state actors that have nuclear capabilities. He argues that there is an urgent but complicated and understudied task to understand and manage…

The research group Cyber Security Governance will provide cutting-edge academic research in the domain of cyber, where modern technology interacts with traditional concepts such as governance, sovereignty, law-enforcement, international relations and conflict.

How to minimalize the chance of recidivism for extremist prisoners.