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…

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.

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…

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

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…

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

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

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…

This book presents an understanding of the concept of Countering Violent Extremism from a critical terrorism studies perspective using case studies from different countries while examining the issues it raises.

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.

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

In the track Governance of radicalism, extremism and terrorism you will be familiarised with the academic debate regarding these contested concepts.

This online advanced summer programme, organised together with the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague (ICCT), provides insight into the opportunities and challenges of various approaches to prevent, detect and respond to violent extremism.

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.

This online advanced summer programme of Leiden University and ICCT focuses on the field of preventing, detecting and responding to violent extremism and gives insight in the opportunities and challenges of various approaches.

With the recent rise and fall of IS, academics and policy makers around the world are expressing concerns about the fate of children of former foreign fighters. Will they follow in their parents’ footsteps? In this paper, Layla van Wieringen, Daan Weggemans and Marieke Liem argue that in light of this…

What are the mechanics of soft materials (e.g. foam, sand)?

Investigating neurobiological endophenotypes of Social Anxiety Disorder

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

This paper critically compares seven widely used risk assessment tools for violent extremism, including the VERA-2R, the ERG 22+, the SQAT, the IR46, the RRAP, the Radar, and the VAF.

This thesis presents pioneering work on the panchromatic emission of some of the most luminous galaxies in the early Universe: star forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei.

What happens to children of extremist parents? Commissioned by the Scientific Research and Documentation Center (WODC) of the Ministry of Justice and Security, four ISGA researchers, Layla van Wieringen, Daan Weggemans, Katharina Krüsselmann and Marieke Liem, wrote a report on the nature and extent…

Research has shown that terrorist attacks in the US are more often committed by right-wing extremists than by islamitic extremists. However, news about attacks by right-wing extremists hardly ever reach the media. Jelle van Buuren tells the Dutch newspaper Trouw that right-wing extremists are at least…

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…

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…

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…

Study information

Are you thinking about studying Crisis and Security Management: Governance of radicalism, extremism and terrorism? Learn more and watch the videos.

When does radicalization not lead to terrorist attacks?

On 17 August 1945, two days after the Japanese surrender that also brought an end to the Second World War in Asia, Indonesia declared its independence. The declaration was not recognized by the Netherlands, which resorted to force in its attempt to take control of the inevitable process of decolonization.…

This article examines how the threat of terrorism has been addressed at the policy level through an analysis of a specific case in Mali.

On 12 mei 2020, Darryl Robinson defended 'Exploring Justice in Extreme Cases: Criminal Law Theory and International Criminal Law'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. C. Stahn.

Do children growing up in a jihadist or right-wing extremist household develop the same extremist views as their parents?

Global climate change is manifest by local-scale changes in precipitation and temperature patterns, including the frequency of extreme weather events (EWEs). EWEs are associated with a myriad range of adverse environmental and societal consequences, including negative impacts to agriculture and food…

The book “Becoming a European Homegrown Jihadist” of Dr. Bart Schuurman, Assistant Professor at Leiden University's Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA), is published by Amsterdam University Press on 22 March 2018.

Compared to its European neighbouring countries, the Netherlands undertake relatively few attempts to bring back women and children from Iraq and Syria. De Roy van Zuijdewijn explains why on Dutch NPO 1 radio.

During an episode of Dutch television talk show PAUW on Monday 24 July, presenter Jeroen Pauw discussed the new threat assessment recently published by the Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV). Jelle van Buuren, Assistant Professor Terrorism and Political Violence at Leiden…

The number of young Western women travelling abroad to join the

In this thesis new methodologies are developed for the detection and systematic study of radio sources in the early universe. This allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the formation and evolution of galaxies, the activity of supermassive black holes, and the final phase transition of our universe:…

Edited by Michael Kowalski

How to minimalize the chance of recidivism for extremist prisoners.

Training a robot in a real-life environment is more or less impossible. Computer scientist and psychologist Roy de Kleijn switched to training in a simulated, virtual one instead. ‘You do have a reality gap, but the more precisely you train the robot, the better it is in practice.’ His inspiration:…

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…

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.

In an essay in Dutch magazine 'Vrij Nederland' Nikki Sterkenburg, external PhD candidate at the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, discusses how radical and extreme right voices have become mainstream over the last twenty years. Sterkenburg brings up several reasons why the prevailing stigma…