n 2015 Islamist terrorism in Europe dominated the news with deadly attacks in Paris in January and November. Yet the attacks are only the latest in a long history of jihadist terrorism in Europe. In his new book Islamist Terrorism in Europe Petter Nesser provides a comprehensive account of the rise of jihadist militancy in Europe drawing upon a wide range of new primary sources and tracing the phenomenon back to the late 1980s. Nesser also examines how jihadist terrorism in Europe reflects the ideological agendas of armed organizations in conflict zones, and how entrepreneurial jihad-veterans facilitate the transnationalization of militancy.

Dr. Petter Nesser is a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) and the author of Islamist Terrorism in Europe: A History. He is trained in the areas of Social Science, Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic at the University of Oslo (UiO) and The American University in Cairo (AUC). Dr. Nesser has conducted extensive research on militant Islamism in Europe for more than a decade while focusing on motivational factors, recruitment and radicalization processes.  New America is pleased to welcome Dr. Nesser for a discussion of his book and the history of Islamist terrorism in Europe.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase by check or credit card.

Follow the conversation online using #EuroTerror and by following @NatSecNAF. 

Participant:

Dr. Petter Nesser
Senior Research Fellow, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment
@petternessern   

Moderator:

Peter Bergen
Vice President, New America 
@peterbergencnn