Jihadi terrorism and the radicalisation challenge : European and American experiences / edited by Rik Coolsaet.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Jihadi terrorism : a global assessment of the threat / Paul Pillar -- Al-Qaeda : a true global movement / Olivier Roy -- Logics of jihadi violence in North Africa / Hugh Roberts -- "Terrorism studies" : a critical appraisal / Teun Van de Voorde -- The debate over "old" vs. "new" terrorism / Martha Crenshaw -- Radicalisation and terrorism in history : lessons from the radical left terrorist campaigns in Europe and the United States / Leena Malkki -- Cycles of revolutionary terrorism / Rik Coolsaet -- Muslims in Europe and the US : a shared but overrated risk of radicalism / Jocelyne Cesari -- The turn to political violence in the West / Marc Sageman -- Characteristics of Jihadi terrorists in Europe (2001- 2009) / Edwin Bakker -- Dutch extremist Islamism : Van Gogh's murderer and his ideas / Rudolph Peters -- The rise and demise of Jihadi terrorism in Belgium / Rik Coolsaet -- Disengagement, de-radicalization and the arc of terrorism : future directions for research / John Horgan, Max Taylor -- Group desistence from terrorism : the dynamics of actors, actions and outcomes / Clark McCauley -- (De-)escalating radicalisation. The debate within immigrant communities in Europe / Tarik Fraihi -- Competing counter-radicalisation models in the UK / Robert Lambert -- Counterterrorism and counter-radicalisation in Europe. how much unity in diversity? / Rik Coolsaet -- Counter-radicalisation in the United States / Lorenzo Vidino -- Epilogue: terrorism and radicalisation : what do we now know? / Rik Coolsaet.

Osama bin Laden's demise in May 2011 marked only the symbolic end of an era. By the time of his killing, he no longer represented the Robin Hood icon that once stirred global fascination. Ten years after the 11 September 2001 attacks, jihadi terrorism has largely lost its juggernaut luster. It now mostly resembles a patchwork of self-radicalising local groups with international contacts but without any central organisational design - akin to the radical left terrorism of the 1970s and the anarchist fin-de-siècle terrorism. This volume addresses two issues that remain largely unexplored in contemporary terrorism studies. It rehabilitates the historical and comparative analysis as a way to grasp the essence of terrorism, including its jihadi strand. Crucial similarities with earlier forms of radicalisation and terrorism abound and differences appear generally not fundamental. Likewise, the very concept of radicalisation is seldom questioned anymore. Nevertheless it often lacks conceptual clarity and empirical validation. Once considered a quintessential European phenomenon, the United States too experiences how some of its own citizens radicalise into terrorist violence. This collective work compares radicalisation in both continents and the strategies aimed at de-radicalisation. But it also assesses if the concept merits its reputation as the holy grail of terrorism studies. The volume is aimed at an audience of decision makers, law enforcement officials, academia and think tanks, by its combination of novel thinking, practical experience and a theoretical approach.