Al Qaeda in the West as a Youth Movement: The Power of a Narrative

CEPS Policy Brief No. 168

8 Pages Posted: 27 Jan 2009

See all articles by Olivier Roy

Olivier Roy

Ecole des Hautes Etudes; European University Institute - Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS)

Date Written: August 28, 2008

Abstract

This paper by a noted expert on Islam, Olivier Roy, declares that the success of Osama Bin Laden is not to have established a modern and efficient Islamist political organisation, but to have invented a narrative that could allow rebels without a cause to connect with a cause. Instead of looking vertically through Muslim history and theology to explain Al Qaeda's violence, he argues that it should be connected to the general phenomenon of radical violence among youth.

Keywords: Islam, Europe

Suggested Citation

Roy, Olivier, Al Qaeda in the West as a Youth Movement: The Power of a Narrative (August 28, 2008). CEPS Policy Brief No. 168 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1333550 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1333550

Olivier Roy (Contact Author)

Ecole des Hautes Etudes

54, boulevard Raspail
Paris, 75006
France

European University Institute - Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS) ( email )

Villa La Fonte, via delle Fontanelle 18
50016 San Domenico di Fiesole
Florence, Florence 50014
Italy

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