Remembering Terrorism: The Case of Norway

Roy van Zuijdewijn, J. de (2019)

Article / Letter to editor

As terrorism scholars, we are intrigued by those who engage in violence. We study their motivations, tactics, ideology, organisational structures, and pathways to (de-)mobilisation, hoping to better understand terrorism and how we can counter it. Far less attention is paid to what happens after an attack has taken place. Terrorist attacks are means to an end; the responses to terrorism determine the impact attacks might have on societies. One way to better understand the impact of terrorism is by studying how societies deal with memories of terrorist attacks. This Perspective looks into the case of Norway following the attacks by Anders Behring Breivik on July 22, 2011. What can we learn about the societal responses to terrorism from how Norway commemorates the attacks and deals with the locations where these attacks have taken place? This perspective discusses the memorialisation process in Norway and then zooms in on a visit of the author to the island of Utøya in June 2019 in order to provide a more close-up look of how the members of the Workers’ Youth League (AUF) have found their own ways to deal with the attacks. 

• terrorism
• commemoration
• memorial
• Norway
• Breivik
• attacks

• All authors: Roy van Zuijdewijn, J. de
• Date: 2019-09-30
• Journal: ICCT-Commentary
• Advanced Publication: Yes
• Link: https://icct.nl/publication/remembering-terrorism-the-case-of-norway/