The Evolution of the Terrorism and Extremism Landscape in the Age of COVID-19

Abstract

The chapter examines how transnational terrorism has evolved since the twentieth century, focusing on the so-called religiously inspired wave that emerged most forcefully with the Al Qaeda attacks in New York and Washington in September 2001, as well as the rise and evolution of the virulent Al Qaeda offshoot Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), in tandem with the emergence of social media-driven radicalization processes from the mid-2000s onwards. The chapter will show how not just violent Islamist extremism as exemplified by Al Qaeda and ISIS but other forms—such as the Identitarian Far Right in Western countries and even Buddhist versions in South and Southeast Asia—have gained momentum in recent years. The chapter will argue that these other extremisms have arisen partially in response to violent Islamism in a process of reciprocal radicalization—mediated by the very same social media platforms used by ISIS and its affiliates. Finally the chapter will discuss how strategic dexterity, by way of a judicious mix of “hard” law enforcement and “soft” counter-ideological and other non-kinetic measures, remains essential to cope with the rapidly mutating threat.