Islamist terrorist networks in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

After the attacks on the United States in September 2001, Bosnia and Herzegovina acquired a reputation as a country supporting international terrorism. This perception was mostly a result of the 1992-1995 war, when foreign fighters tied to Islamist terrorist groups came to support the Bosniaks and spread radical Islam. The thesis investigates three theories about the development or support of terrorist networks and the radicalization of society. The thesis assesses each theory's explanatory power in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main research findings include the following. Islamist vanguards have succeeded in attracting some young Bosniaks, who abandoned their traditional beliefs, accepted more a puritan and less tolerant form of Islam, and became potential manpower for Islamist extremists. Constant political confrontations among Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians representing different ethnic groups have led to political instability. The country has neither the coercive nor the administrative capacities to provide a safe and stable environment, permitting the development of terrorist cells and affiliates. Even though Bosnia and Herzegovina has a permissive environment where extremist vanguards promote radical ideologies and call for jihad, the Muslim population generally does not support these groups or extremist violence