Understanding the current wave of terrorism. Egmont Commentary, 4 August 2016

A number of terrorist attacks have struck Europe over the past months, triggering the impression of a ‘wave of terror’ among citizens. This commentary replaces the recent upscale of violence in the context of the ‘wave of religious terrorism’, which started in 1979, but also in the broader historical context of the four terrorist waves that have marked the modern era, starting in 1880. It concludes that the current ‘wave’ of terrorism is not new. Neither is it the highest point in political violence in Europe