Terrorism in Europe
Elizabeth Victoria, The Eurasia Center July 2017
Introduction
There are hundreds of definitions of terrorism worldwide, which create complications for those trying to combat it. While the complexity of terror attacksgenerally increases with time, the most fatal European attack to date happened in the 1980s, creating some dissonance and lessening the correlation between complexity and deaths. Fortunately, as time goes on, specialized research is done to point out the trends that threaten civilians and this knowledge is used to protect citizens.
Deadliest Attacks
With the media’s constant coverage of terrorism in the Western World, it feels as though attacks have progressively become deadlier. However, the deadliest terrorist attacks in Europe took place in the years 1985, 1988, and 2004.[1] Even on a global scale the amount of fatalities from terror attacks decreased 10 percent from 2014 to 2015, and has continued to decrease in recent years.[2]In 2015, Europe was the fifth most affected region totaling less than one thousand deaths and attacks that year compared to the region of the Middle East and North Africa which had about thirteen thousand deaths and over four thousand attacks.[3]
The deadliest attack Europe has seen was the Air India Flight 182 Bombing in 1985 where there were 329 casualties. The airplane was sent barreling into the Atlantic Ocean after a bomb exploded onboard over Irish airspace. The second deadliest attackwas another airline attack that took place overLockerbie, Scotland in1988, known as the Pam Am Flight 103 Bombing that caused 270 people to be killed.[4] The third most deadly European attack were the ten 2004 Madrid Train Bombings that killed one hundred and ninety-two citizens.[5]In July 2014, Malaysian Airliner MH17 was blown out of the sky over Donetsk, Ukraine, with the loss of 298 lives.
Out of the twenty most deadly attacks in 2015, only two of them took place in Europe. The deadlier of the two attacks took place in Ukraine in October, where the Donetsk People’s Republic assaulted soldiers using armed military vehicles. This resulted in 143 deaths.The second, in France, was the bombing of the Bataclan concert hall, which killed 92 people.[6]
2016 European Union Terrorism Trends[7]
According to the European Union’s most recent Terrorism Situation and Trend Report, there were 142 attacks reported by the eight European Union member nations that suffered from potential or transpired attacks in 2016. This number included attacks that were stopped or prevented. Of all 142 reported attacks, more than half of them- 76 to be exact-originated from the United Kingdom. Note that in 2015, the United Kingdom had 106 incidents.[8] This is a significantly larger portion than the second highest country, France, with only 23 attacks. If the second half of the year continues as it started, the United Kingdom might hold that unfortunate title once again in 2017. On the other end of the spectrum, the Netherlands had the smallest amount of reported attacks, with only one in all of 2016. However, there were countries that had zero attacks to report.
The report also concludes that ethno-nationalist and separatist extremist groups have perpetrated most attacks out of all identifiable affiliations, but jihadist groups tended to be the most violent. The majority of individuals arrested for “jihadist terrorism” were operating from France. The total number of jihad-motivated individuals increased from 687 in 2015 to 718 in 2016. There were zero instances of single-issue terrorism in any of the EU Member States.[9]
Global Threats & Responses
As the threat of terrorism rises in Europe, countries are issuing travel warnings and advisories against traveling to the region. In both the United States and Canada, there are severe alerts saying to travel with high degrees of caution when traveling to the United Kingdom, France, and other high-risk countries.[10] The United States’ State Department increased their warnings to an alert for all of Europe at the beginning of May of this year due to the persistent attacks by Islamic extremist groups. North American countries are primarily fighting lone wolf terrorism, their current biggest threat.[11] Since 2006, 98 percent of all fatalities from terrorism in the United States resulted from lone wolf attacks.[12] Even with, and before, the heightened travel security measures, there are not any European countries in the tencountries most generally affected by terrorism, reported by the Global Terrorism Index.[13] The same fact applies to the ten countries most economically affectedby terrorism during 2015.[14]
The Western Balkan countries have suffered mostly from jihadist terrorism, which is assumed to be due to the amount of movement between the countries and Syria and between the countries and Iraq. Other forms of terrorism are considered “insignificant” compared to the sizeable threat that the jihadist movement presents.[15]
Countries in North Africa, the Gulf States, and the Middle East are also attempting to combat jihadist terrorism, but it resembles a war, specifically with the Islamic State. During 2016, the Islamic State attempted to push their territory to include more than the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. In Libya, the war against terrorism also includes a war for control between the Islamic States and al-Qaeda.[16] A similar situation is occurring in Yemen, which has led to the Saudi Coalition joining nations together to try preventing the creation of another falling or failed state.[17]
Nations within the European region are also warning citizens of the probable danger through both domestic and international travel. France is under a state of emergency declaration until next month[18]. The United Kingdom’s government has issued warnings about anywhere that could be considered a “British interest” and that no European country can be considered entirely safe.[19]
While some countries in Europe have been fortunate enough to avoid becoming victims of these attacks, there are still proactive and preemptive safety measures being taken. Denmark, with zero attacks but 8 terrorism-related arrests in 2016, passed an amendment forbidding travel to certain areas of Syria and Iraq that are known to have training camps.[20] Hungary, not reported to have any arrests or attacks, amended the regulation of acts of terrorism to criminalize the organization of a terrorist group. Romania, with only one arrest, passed laws that allowed for the government to access publicly available electronic correspondence for anyone in the country[21].
New Questions
For quite some time, there has been correlation between political unrest and terrorism within countries. In fact, from 1989-2014, about ninety-three percent of all attacks were in countries that had tyrannical leaders that instilled fear into their citizens.[22] It makes sense, the people were getting treated poorly and some would respond by turning to violence. As previously mentioned, the United Kingdom has had four terrorist attacks in the past three months alone, which contradicts the previously noted patterns. When compared to nations in North Africa, the Middle East or the Gulf States, it does not seem like many, but that does not dismiss the urgency of thequantity and frequency. These incidents are calling for new research into terrorist motivations, in order to create new measures for counter-terrorism and ensure global safety.
Works Cited
Adler, Jerry. 2001. "Remembering Terror, 1988." Newsweek 138, no. 19: 56. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost. Accessed June 20, 2017.
Canada.United Kingdom.June 22, 2017. Accessed June 23, 2017.
Europol.EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2017. 2017. Accessed June 26, 2017.
Ghosh, Aparisim, James Graff, Timothy J. Burger, Viveca Novak, Elaine Shannon, Bruce Crumley, and Enrique Zaldua, et al. 2004. "Terror on the Tracks." Time International (South Pacific Edition) no. 11: 22-28. Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost. Accessed June 21, 2017.
Institute of Economics and Peace, comp. Global Terrorism Index 2016. Institute of Economics and Peace, START. Vision of Humanity. November 2016. Accessed June 26, 2017.
Live Universal Awareness Map. 2017. “Yemen.” Web. Accessed June 22, 2017.
Nag, Oishimaya Sen. "The Deadliest Terror Attacks In Europe." WorldAtlas. May 01, 2017. Accessed June 25, 2017.
The United Kingdom. Foreign and Commonwealth Office.Foreign Travel Advice- France.June 20, 2017. Accessed June 23, 2017.
The United Kingdom. Foreign and Commonwealth Office.Reduce Your Risk from Terrorism While Abroad.March 22, 2013. Updated May 25, 2017. Accessed June 23, 2017.
The United States. State Department. Bureau of Consular Affairs.Europe Travel Alert.May 1, 2017. Accessed June 22, 2017.
[1]Nag,"The Deadliest Terror Attacks In Europe."
[2] Global Terrorism Index 2016.
[3] Global Terrorism Index 2016, pg. 25
[4] Adler, "Remembering Terror, 1988."
[5]Ghosh, "Terror on the Tracks."
[6] Global Terrorism Index 2016, pgs. 14-15
[7]EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2017.
[8]Global Terrorism Index 2016, pgs. 22-23
[9]EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2017, pg. 48
[10]The United States, Europe Travel Alert., Canada,United Kingdom.
[11]EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2017, pg. 34
[12] Global Terrorism Index 2016, pg. 6
[13] Global Terrorism Index 2016, pgs. 27-37
[14] Global Terrorism Index 2016, pg. 65
[15]EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2017, pg. 33
[16]EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2017, pg. 35
[17] Live Universal Awareness Map, “Yemen.”
[18]The United Kingdom,Foreign Travel Advice- France.
[19]The United Kingdom,Reduce Your Risk from Terrorism While Abroad.
[20]EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2017, pg. 57
[21]EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2017, pg. 58
[22] Global Terrorism Index 2016, pg. 74