Transnational Terrorism

·         “Challenges Posed by Transnational Terrorism. Trends and Recent Developments” was the title of a lecture evening on 18 November 2021 organised jointly by the FPÖ Political Academy, the Liberal Club and other sponsors.

·         Nicolas Stockhammer, counter-terrorism expert at the Danube University Krems talked about the still high risk of terrorist attacks in Europe, but also in other parts of the world. Although the Islamic State’s “Caliphate” has been largely destroyed, the structures of this and other Islamic terrorist networks are still intact due to the franchise dynamics. In Europe, as some of the jihadist-motivated attacks of recent years have shown, it is increasingly petty criminals with no previous deep-rooted religious commitment, who become radicalised and join extremist groups.

·         Experts in the field such as Olivier Roy therefore believe the trend is not so much towards an increasing radicalisation of Islam, but an Islamisation of radicalism. That the terrorist attack of 2020 in Vienna did not claim significantly more victims was due not least to its comparatively amateurish execution. However, it has to be said that the authorities need to improve their performance in the fight against Islamist terrorism. One of Stockhammer’s criticisms, for example, concerned the inadequate vetting of interpreters, at least in the past.

·         Although at the moment, the focus is on Islamic terrorism, the speaker warned of new trends in the broad spectrum of politically-motivated violence. According to some international terror experts, there is a possibility that certain segments of the environmental movement will become radicalised, leading to the emergence of a new variety of terrorism (Green Army Faction) in the next few years.