This ICCT Perspective provides some first insights into counterterrorism professionals’ views of the academic field. Using the results of a survey distributed among attendees of ICCT events held in... Show moreThis ICCT Perspective provides some first insights into counterterrorism professionals’ views of the academic field. Using the results of a survey distributed among attendees of ICCT events held in The Hague in 2019 and through the ICCT newsletter to a larger international audience, insights are presented on the degree to which academic research on terrorism is actually able to speak to the concerns and questions of policymakers and professionals working in, for instance, policing, intelligence or prevention programs. This Perspective is part of a larger effort on ICCT’s behalf to engage with its readership in order to further improve its ability to provide policy and practice relevant academically informed output. Show less
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... Show moreAs 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.Show less
