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…

In this article, Bart Schuurman and Sarah Louise Carthy conduct further research into the understanding of the causes of terrorism by assessing differences and similarities between left-, right- and jihadist extremists and terrorists. The article draws on the Analysen zum Terrorismus, one of the most…

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.

When does radicalization not lead to terrorist attacks?

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

This study focuses on increasing our understanding of the different pathways converts take during conversion to Islam.

The book addresses the question “How and why do people become involved in European homegrown jihadism?

People who are arrested on suspicion of preparing an attack are at risk of becoming radicalised either during or after their detention. Whether or not to arrest someone requires careful consideration. At the end of the prison sentence, it is important to provide effective supervision of the reintegration…

How to minimalize the chance of recidivism for extremist prisoners.

Since 2012, thousands of individuals have traveled from Western countries to join jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq. While much has been written about these individuals, only sparse attention has been paid to the social environment of these jihadist travelers and, more specific, the role of family members…

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'.

In this publication, the authors explore the reality of accessing and interviewing hard-to-reach populations such as extremists and terrorists

On 16 april 2020, Andrew Fink defended his thesis 'The Importance of Conspiracy Theory in Extremist Ideology and Propaganda'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. A. Ellian.

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

The group structure of Jihadist networks changes rapidly, which makes it difficult to monitor them. This is the finding of research by criminologist Jasper de Bie. PhD defence 14 April.

This study is a critical discourse analysis of the misogynistic narratives shared by three incel violent extremists.

This paper contributes on an increasing body of work on radicalisation. It specifically focuses on what distinguishes individuals whose behavioural radicalisation includes involvement in terrorist violence from those whose behavioural radicalisation does not.

Most families were utterly overwhelmed when they found out that their son or daughter had suddenly left for Syria, that is what Daan Weggemans, Marieke van der Zwan and Marieke Liem observe in their research on family members of Dutch jihadists.

Although Islamic State has largely been beaten, for now the Jihad scene in the Netherlands is more than alive. That is what professor Edwin Bakker (terrorism and counterterrorism) recently said in an interview in the Algemeen Dagblad.

This report concerns itself with terrorist technical innovation, particularly with regards to terrorists’ incorporation of emerging technologies into their practices. More specifically, it investigates, through the elaboration of a theoretical learning framework, how terrorist groups can adopt the practices…

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…

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

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?

Peter Grol and Edwin Bakker, professor of Terrorism and Counterterrorism at the University, presented their book ‘Dutch Jihadists’ for a large audience. The book tells individual stories of jihadists in Holland and of Syria-goers and should contribute to a better insight into their backgrounds and m…

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…

Edited by Michael Kowalski

The number of young Western women travelling abroad to join the

From 2012 onwards the primary scholarly and media focus in regard to foreign fighters has been on the large number of Westerners joining jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq. Yet, much less attention has been paid to another conflict in the ring around Europe that attracted foreign fighters: the Russo-Ukrainian…

An exploratory study on the role of family members of those who joined jihadist groups

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

A growing amount of literature is being devoted to interrogating gendered dynamics in both violent extremism and terrorism, contributing to the integration of international and feminist security. This includes how such dynamics can shape differences in the motivations and participation of women and…

Every summer, Leiden University is the setting of dozens of summer schools in which professionals and students can receive extra training on a specific topic within a short space of time. We took a look at a summer programme on extremism. ‘A recruiter for al-Qaeda said that I could change the world.…

This paper investigates possible convergence of issue salience of terrorism among citizens within the European Union for ten jihadist attacks in the period 2015–2017 using Eurobarometer survey data.

In this article, Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn and Edwin Bakker provide a big picture reflection on two decades after 9/11 in Western Europe.

This research paper seeks to examine the nature of the nexus between right-wing extremism and the military by surveying five potential consequences (i.e., problem areas) arising from the presence of right-wing extremists within the armed forces of twelve Western countries.

Research goal: To support the design of technologies (counter-measures and communication measures) for the prevention, interdiction and mitigation of lone actor extremist events (LOEEs), which are hard to anticipate, yet can be highly damaging to local and national communities and therefore must be…

Promoting collaborative policies of inclusion relating to children of far right and Islamist parents in Western Europe (PREPARE).

Intergenerational transmission refers to the complex and dynamic process with which values, ideas and behaviors are transmitted across generations. We are specifically interested in the intergenerational transmission of behaviors and beliefs that might result in harm to the individuals involved or society…

Under what circumstances do paramilitary groups limit their use of political violence? This article examines the use of political violence by the PIRA.

The 2012 crisis in Mali, where the state collapsed and terrorist groups took over the north, came as a surprise to many. Mali had been considered a poster-child for democracy and was judged as considerably more stable than its neighbors by leading quantitative indices of state fragility. This article…

This project aims at recording and safeguarding parts of the intangible cultural heritage of the Dogon in central Mali. A major song cycle, the baja ni, forms an integral part of Dogon funeral traditions. The song cycle is attributed to Abirè, a blind Dogon poet/prophet, probably from the 19th c., who…

Lecture, LUCIS What's New?! Series

The Centre for Professional Learning (CPL) develops in-depth and challenging programmes for higher educated professionals.

In the Master's programme Crisis and Security Management, specialisation Governance of radicalism, extremism and terrorism we focus on the academic body of knowledge on different form of protests, contention, resistance and violence. We explore and explain the emergence of radical and extremist move…

This article researches the public perception of terrorist attacks by measuring the importance the public assigns to attributes of terrorist attacks.

Jasper de Bie, who obtained his doctoral degree at the Institute of Criminal Law & Criminology and who is currently employed by the Ministry of Security and Justice, has been awarded an honourable third place in the international competition 'TRI Award for the Best Doctoral Dissertation on Terrorism…

In African societies today, growing inequality and continued exclusion due to ethnicity, gender, religion, disability or sexual orientation give rise to both contestation and cooperation for social change. How does the written or spoken word lead to collaboration and contestation in areas of social…

In this article, Maria-Elena Kisyova, Yannick Veilleux-Lepage and Vanessa Newby shed some light on how a small but highly visible group of influencers are actively working to promote a dangerous far-right ideology.

In August 2006 a young American called Raed Jarrar discovered Arabic’s potency. Detained by four guards at New York’s Kennedy Airport for wearing a T-shirt with “We will not be silent” on it in Arabic, he was told that he may as well be entering a bank with a T-shirt announcing “I am a robber.”

The Hofstad group is known mainly because of Mohammed B., the murderer of Theo van Gogh. PhD candidate Bart Schuurman examined this Dutch jihadist group based on interviews and confidential police files. How and why did the group come about? What drove some of the group members to commit terrorist…