Throughout history, factors of radicalization have involved social and economic conditions and issues of identity. Patterns of Islamist radicalization in Europe reflect the historical experience of European Muslim communities, particularly their links to their home countries, the prevalence of militant groups there, and the extent to which factors of radicalization in Muslim countries transfer to European Muslim diasporas. Eurojihad examines the sources of radicalization in Muslim communities in Europe and the responses of European governments and societies. In an effort to understand the scope and dynamics of Islamist extremism and terrorism in Europe, this book takes into account recent developments, in particular the emergence of Syria as a major destination of European jihadists. Angel Rabasa and Cheryl Benard describe the history, methods, and evolution of jihadist networks in Europe with particular nuance, providing a useful primer for the layperson and a sophisticated analysis for the expert.
Benard, Cheryl: - Cheryl Benard is the president of Metis Analytics, a Washington, DC-based research company. From 2003 to 2012, she was a senior analyst with the RAND Corporation, where she worked primarily on methods for understanding and countering radical extremism. This included projects with Iraqi youth in Baghdad, education programs in Afghanistan, outreach to media activists, and workshops with female peace activists. Prior to that, she was research director with a European foundation that focused on domestic social problems in Germany and Austria, especially those related to immigration, migrant workers, and refugees. Benard's career has spanned two continents. Her focus has been on published results with a high degree of accessibility for policy makers, media and the interested public. She has been the recipient of several awards in recognition of her work, including the Theodor Kery Prize for Socially Relevant Research and the Donauland Prize for Nonfiction Writing. Her books, including Civil Democratic Islam, have been translated into several languages.
Rabasa, Angel: - Angel Rabasa is a senior political scientist at RAND whose research and analyses address problems of international security, extremism, and terrorism. His 2003 publication, The Muslim World after 9/11, received wide acclaim for its comprehensive synthesis of the trends across the different regions of the Muslim world. Rabasa is the lead author of the 2006 publication Beyond al-Qaeda, a two-volume collection of analyses that tracked jihadists' movements globally and highlighted the role of ideology in sustaining Islamist terrorism, and the author of Building Moderate Muslim Networks (2007) with Cheryl Benard. He is also the author of books on Islamism in Southeast Asia, Turkey and East Africa, and on the de-radicalization of Islamist extremists.
