The Crime-Terrorism Nexus
This report is part of our Strategic Monitor 2018 - 2019, which monitors the international system and assesses risks to Dutch national security. Over the coming weeks, additional research papers associated with this Strategic Monitor will be released. A synthesis report will be published in February 2019.
In this research paper author Renske van der Veer analyzes both the general threat landscape and the international norms, rules and decision-making procedures that impact the nexus between crime and terrorism. There are four factors that contribute to the long-term development of the threat related to the nexus between crime and terrorism:
- The role of personal connections;
- The Syrian conflict as a game changer;
- The criminal nature of ISIS and other jihadist groups fighting in Syria and Iraq, and
- The access foreign terrorist fighters in Syria and Iraq have to professional training and material.
There are also four developments related to the international norms, rules and decision-making procedures that impact the nexus between crime and terrorism:
- Returnees from Syria and Iraq;
- Domestic returnees from prisons;
- Issues regarding prosecution and convictions, and
- The organization of countermeasures.