1. Jihadism in Western Europe after the invasion of Iraq -- Working paper.
- Author
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Nesser, Peter
- Subjects
- *
IRAQ War, 2003-2011 , *TERRORISM , *JIHAD - Abstract
This paper traces motivational influences from the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq to patterns of Islamist terrorism in Western Europe. The paper analyses the circumstances of two successful terrorist attacks in Western Europe occurring after the invasion in March 2003. First, we survey the mass casualty attack attributed to a group of al-Qaida associated radical Islamists in Madrid on 11 March 2004, and secondly, the slaughter of a Dutch filmmaker on the streets of Amsterdam, also by an al-Qaida inspired terrorist network. These terrorist attacks were launched in the context of intensified counter-terrorism efforts on the global scene, and the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The paper situates these acts of terrorism within the broader theory of so-called "spillover effects" from armed conflicts to international terrorism. The argument in this paper is that although there were no Iraqi insurgents involved in these two attacks, the Iraq war was a significant motivational factor for the terrorists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2005