Contemporary Salafi Jihad in the West: a critique of Mark Sageman's Understanding Terror Networks

Bc. Jakub Rafay

Bachelor's thesis

Abstract:

Práca “Contemporary Salafi Jihad in the West: a critique of Marc Sageman’s ‘Understanding Terror Networks’” sa venuje fenoménu súčasného saláfistickeho džihádu v západnom svete, pričom tento jav analyzuje na dvoch úrovniach – na úrovni širšieho hnutia a na úrovni jedincov – a závery porovnáva s jedným zo základných textov odboru štúdií terorizmu, “Understanding Terror Networks” od Marca Sagemana. Kvalitatívna časť práce sa venuje zmenám vo vybraných aspektoch džihádistického hnutia, zatiaľ čo jej druhá, kvantitatívna časť pracuje so závermi výskumu profilov 121 džihádistov v období rokov 2011-2016 a porovnáva ich so Sagemanovym profilovanim džihádistov z predošlej éry džihádistického hnutia.

Abstract:

Bachelor thesis titled ‘Contemporary Salafi Jihad in the West: a critique of Marc Sageman’s “Understanding Terror Networks”’ analyses the jihadi movement and its activities in the Western world on two levels – wider movement and the individual level – and compares its conclusions with one of centrepiece texts of terrorism studies, Marc Sageman’s “Understanding Terror Networks.” The first, qualitative part of the thesis illustrates changes in selected aspects of the movement, while its second, quantitative part, analyses 121 profiles of jihadists active between 2011 and 2016 and compares the regularities in their background with Sageman’s own profiling research from the previous era of jihadism.

Keywords

ISIS, terorizmus, Islamský štát, Západ, terrorism, Islamic State, the West, Marc Sageman, džihádizmus, jihadism

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 16. 5. 2017

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 12. 6. 2017
• Supervisor: Mgr. Josef Kraus, Ph.D.
• Reader: Mgr. Alexandra Šmídová

Masaryk University

Faculty of Social Studies

Bachelor programme / field:
Political Science / Security & Strategic Studies