This quantitative study investigated the relationship between the label assigned to a terrorist act and the fear of terrorism and consequent support for anti-terrorism policy in Western Europe....Show moreThis quantitative study investigated the relationship between the label assigned to a terrorist act and the fear of terrorism and consequent support for anti-terrorism policy in Western Europe. Previous research has linked the fear of terrorism and the support one has for policy tackling it. A survey experiment (N = 210) was conducted making use of vignette manipulations to evoke emotional responses within respondents. Next, a statistical analysis was performed making use of ANOVA tests. The results suggested that the label of jihadist terrorism incites incrementally more fear and support for anti-terrorism policy than the right-wing terrorism label; despite the tests not resulting in statistical significance. It is suspected that statistical significance could be reached if a larger sample were employed. It was further concluded that because of the European contextuality right-wing terrorism is not as feared, and support for anti-right-wing terrorism policy is not as high in comparison to its jihadist counterpart.Show less
In this thesis the reluctance of Dutch politicians to repatriate foreign fighters is investigated and it is argued that this is an example of organized irresponsibility. Many Dutch foreign fighters...Show moreIn this thesis the reluctance of Dutch politicians to repatriate foreign fighters is investigated and it is argued that this is an example of organized irresponsibility. Many Dutch foreign fighters who joined ISIS now wish to return to the Netherlands. The Dutch government is unwilling to facilitate their repatriation, despite pressure from Dutch institutions, and security experts arguing arguing that repatriation is the best long-term solution to the foreign fighter issue.Show less
Research on the “new” crime-terror nexus points out a recent trend of criminals turning to Islamist terrorism in Western Europe, assumes this is due to an overlap of criminal and terrorist milieus,...Show moreResearch on the “new” crime-terror nexus points out a recent trend of criminals turning to Islamist terrorism in Western Europe, assumes this is due to an overlap of criminal and terrorist milieus, and argues this is significant because former criminals make more effective terrorists (Basra, Neumann & Brunner 2016). Despite being left out of Basra, Neumann and Brunner’s study, Bosnia’s militant Islamists possess well-developed criminal capabilities. This research draws on the explanatory power of the concept of legitimacy to analyze the development of the Islamist movement in Bosnia and how it uses crime. Through contextualizing and synthesizing open-source information on five post-war terrorist attacks in Bosnia, I argue that the leaders of the Bosnian Islamist movement have since the Bosnian War effectively established and drawn on local and international networks to recruit for and fund terrorist activity, thus diminishing the significance attributed by Basra, Neumann and Brunner to the role former criminals play in financing the Islamist movement and carrying out terrorism. This research encourages a reassessment of some of the main assertions of the new crime-terror nexus and suggests a need for its further study in Bosnia, a country of particular significance to the global jihadist movement.Show less
