Publications

(Publications in Norwegian listed separately below.)

Books

The Caravan: Abdallah Azzam and the Rise of Global Jihad (Cambridge University Press, 2020).

Jihadi Culture: The Art and Social Practices of Militant Islamists (Cambridge University Press, 2017), edited.

Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic and Religious Change (Cambridge University Press, 2015), edited with Bernard Haykel and Stéphane Lacroix.

Jihad In Saudi Arabia: Violence and Pan-Islamism since 1979 (Cambridge University Press, 2010).

The Meccan Rebellion (Amal Press, 2008), with Stéphane Lacroix.

PhD thesis

“Violent Islamism in Saudi Arabia, 1979-2006: The Power and Perils of Pan-Islamic Nationalism” (Sciences-Pô Paris, 2007).

Peer-reviewed articles

daiR: an R package for OCR with Google Document AI“, Journal of Open Source Software 6, 68, 3528 (2021).

“OCR with Tesseract, Amazon Textract, and Google Document AI: a benchmarking experiment”, Journal of Computational Social Science (2021).

Weeping in Modern Jihadi Groups“, Journal of Islamic Studies 31, 3 (2020).

“The Future of Jihadism in Europe: A Pessimistic View”Perspectives on Terrorism 10, 6 (2016).

“Assessing the Islamic State’s Commitment to Attacking the West” (with Petter Nesser), Perspectives on Terrorism 9, 4 (2015).

“Should I Stay or Should I Go? Explaining Variation in Western Jihadists’ Choice between Domestic and Foreign Fighting”American Political Science Review 107, 1 (2013).  

The recruiter’s dilemma: Signalling and rebel recruitment tactics“, Journal of Peace Research 50, 1 (2013).

“Abdallah Azzam and Palestine”Die Welt des Islams 53, 3-4 (9 December 2013).

“The Palestine Effect: The Role of Palestinians in the Transnational Jihad Movement” (with Joas Wagemakers), Die Welt des Islams 53, 3-4 (9 December 2013). Primary sources available here.

The Rise of Muslim Foreign Fighters: Islam and the Globalization of Jihad“, International Security, 35, 3 (2011).

“Jihad, Yes, But Not Revolution: Explaining the Extraversion of Islamist Violence in Saudi Arabia”British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 36, 3 (2009).

“The Ideological Hybridization of Jihadi Groups”Current Trends in Islamist Ideology 9 (2009).

“Islamist violence and regime stability in Saudi Arabia”International Affairs, 84, 4 (2008).

Rejectionist Islamism in Saudi Arabia: The Story of Juhayman al-Utaybi Revisited” [with S Lacroix], International Journal of Middle East Studies, 39, 1 (2007).

Combattants saoudiens en Irak“, Cultures & Conflits, 64 (2007).

“Terrorist Recruitment and Radicalisation in Saudi Arabia”Middle East Policy, 13, 4 (2006).

“Global Jihadism After the Iraq War”Middle East Journal, 60, 1 (2006).

“Jihadi Strategic Studies: The Alleged Al Qaida Policy Study Preceding the Madrid Bombings” [with B Lia], Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 27, 5 (2004).

Book chapters

“Afterword. The Uniqueness of Islamic State”, in Stephane J. Baele, Katharine A, Boyde, and Travis G. Coan, ISIS Propaganda: A Full-Spectrum Extremist Message (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019).

Jihadi Weeping“, in Sabine Schmidtke (ed.), Studying the Near and Middle East at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, 1936-2017 (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2018), pp. 505-514.

“Insiders and Outsiders: A Survey of Terrorist Threats to Nuclear Facilities” [with Andreas Dæhli], in Bunn & Sagan (eds.), Insider Threats (Cornell University Press, 2017)

“‘Classical’ and ‘Global’ Jihadism in Saudi Arabia”, in Bernard Haykel, Thomas Hegghammer, and Stéphane Lacroix, Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic and Religious Change (Cambridge University Press, 2015), pp. 207-230.

“The 2003 Riyadh and 2008 Sanaa Bombings”, in Bruce Hoffman and Fernando Reinares (eds.), The Evolution of the Global Terrorist Threat: From 9/11 to Osama bin Laden’s Death (Columbia University Press, 2014), pp. 545-570.

“Jihadi Salafis or Revolutionaries: On Religion and Politics in the Study of Islamist Militancy”, in R Meijer (ed), Global Salafism: Islam’s New Religious Movement, (London/New York: Hurst/Columbia University Press, 2009), pp. 244-266.

“Violence politique en Arabie Saoudite: Grandeur et décadence d’al-Qaida dans la Péninsule Arabique”, in Bernard Rougier (ed.), Qu’est-ce que le salafisme? (Presses Universitaires de France, 2008), pp. 105-122.

“Abdallah azzam: L’imam du jihad”, in Gilles Kepel, Thomas Hegghammer, Stéphane Lacroix, Omar Saghi, and Jean-Pierre Milelli (eds.), Al-Qaida dans le texte (Presses Universitaires de France, 2005), pp. 115–138.

Book reviews

Foreign Fighters and Cheese Bells“, review of Daniel Byman, Road Warriors: Foreign Fighters in the Armies of Jihad, in Texas National Security Review, 2 August 2021.

Review of C. Christine Fair, In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e Tayyaba, in Perspectives on Politics 19, 1 (2021).

“The Last Jihadi Superstar”, review of Alexander Melagrou-Hitchens, Incitement: Anwar al-Awlaki’s Western Jihad, in War on the Rocks, 30 October 2020.

Review of Barak Mendelsohn, Jihadism Constrained: The Limits of Transnational Jihadism and What It Means for Counterterrorism, in The Middle East Journal (2020).

Review of Olivier Roy, Jihad and Death: The Global Appeal of Islamic State, in Journal of Peace Research (2018).

Review of Richard C. Martin and Abbas Barzegar, Islamism: Contested Perspectives on Political Islam, in Journal of Islamic Studies (2012).

Family Values“, review of Najwa bin Laden et al, Growing up Bin Laden, in The National, 7 January 2010.

Review of Laurent Murawiec, The Mind of Jihad, in The Times Higher Education Supplement, 12 June 2009.

“The Struggle Within”, review of the documentary film Recycle, in The National, 12 February 2009.

“Until the End of Time”, review of Jean-Pierre Filiu, L’Apocalypse dans l’Islam, in The National, 15 January 2009.

“Jihadi Studies”Times Literary Supplement, 2 April (2008).

Review of Dore Gold, Hatred’s Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism, in The British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 34, 2 (2007).

Reports

The Failure of Jihad in Saudi Arabia, West Point: Combating Terrorism Center, 25 February 2010.

Saudi Militants in Iraq: Backgrounds and Recruitment Patterns, Kjeller: FFI, 2007.

Paths to Global Jihad: Radicalisation and Recruitment to Terror Networks [with L Bokhari, B Lia, P Nesser and T Tønnessen] Kjeller: FFI, 2006.
 
Al-Qaida Statements 2003-2004: A Compilation of Translated Texts by Usama bin Ladin and Ayman al-Zawahiri, Kjeller: FFI, 2005.

Saudi Arabia Backgrounder: Who are the Islamists? [with S Lacroix], Brussels: International Crisis Group, 2004.

The Iraq Hostage Crisis: Abductions in Iraq, April-August 2004, Kjeller: FFI, 2004.

Restoring Peace or Provoking Terrorism? [with Å Kjøk, A Hansen and J Knudsen], Kjeller: FFI, 2004.

Essays and short academic articles

“Resistance Is Futile: The War on Terror Supercharged State Power“, Foreign Affairs 100, 5 (2021).

“Gulf States”, in David G. Lewis and Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, “Regional Powers and Post-NATO Afghanistan“, NDC Research Paper 20 (Rome: NATO Defence College, June 2021), pp. 57-60.

The jihadist digital empowerment revolution“, World Watch: Expert Notes, January 2016

“Calculated Caliphate”Lawfare Blog, 6 July 2014.

Jihadism: Seven Assumptions Shaken by the Arab Spring“, Project on Middle East Political Science, 3 February 2014.

Syria’s Foreign Fighters“, ForeignPolicy.com, 9 December 2013.

Terrorism” and “Suicide“, in G Bowering et al (eds.), Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought, Princeton University Press, 2012.

“Deconstructing the Myth about Al Qaeda and Khobar,”
 CTC Sentinel 1, 3, February 2008.

Weakened al-Qaida shifts to oil targets“, Oxford Analytica Daily Brief, 9 November 2007.

Saudi Arabia: Terror threat reduced – for time being“, Oxford Analytica In-Depth Analysis, 28 February 2007.

Op-eds, commentaries, and testimonies

The Caravan: Abdallah Azzam and the Rise of Global Jihad“, Ambassador’s Brief, 21 March 2020

Why Jihadists Loved America in the 1980s“, The Atlantic, 6 March 2020

بالذكرى الـ30 للاغتيال الغامض لـ”إمام الجهاد”.. من قتل الشيخ عزام؟“, AlJazeera.net, 5 December 2019

The Mysterious Assassination That Unleashed Jihadism“, History News Network, 24 November 2019

Europe to Terrorists: It’s No More Monsieur Nice Guy“, Wall Street Journal, 7 October 2018 (ungated version).

The Soft Power of Militant JihadNew York Times (Sunday Review), 18 December 2015

“To Combat ISIS, Europe Must Do More to Police Social Media”New York Times (Room for Debate), 20 November 2015.

Will ISIS ‘weaponize’ foreign fighters?“, CNN.com, 16 October 2014.

“European foreign fighters in Syria”, transcribed oral testimony, British Parliament, 11 February 2014.

Number of foreign fighters from Europe in Syria is historically unprecedented. Who should be worried?“, WashingtonPost (Monkey Cage Blog), 27 November 2013.

How Syria’s Civil War Became a Holy Crusade” (with Aaron Y. Zelin), ForeignAffairs.com, 7 July 2013.

The Riyadh Bombings: Ten Years and Ten Lessons Later” (in Arabic), al-Sharq al-Awsat, 13 May 2013 (English version here).

The Rise of the Macro-Nationalists“, New York Times (Sunday Review), 31 July 2011.

The case for chasing al-Awlaki“, ForeignPolicy.com, 24 November 2010.

“Why Does Al-Qaeda Have a Problem With Norway?”TheAtlantic.com, 13 July 2010.

Lady Gaga vs. the Occupation“, ForeignPolicy.com, 31 March 2010.

Yemeni Threat in Saudi Arabia“, ForeignPolicy.com, 26 March 2010.

There is nothing soft about Saudi counterterrorismForeignPolicy.com, 11 March 2010.

The Big Impact of Small FootprintsForeignPolicy.com, 11 November 2009.

Irreparable damageForeignPolicy.com, 4 May 2009.

“Osama Bin Ladin’s True Priorities”The Guardian, 4 December 2007.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi: Death of an Icon“, commentary posted on www.opendemocracy.net, 8 June 2006. Conference and seminar papers

Lectures

“Revisiting the poverty-terrorism link in European jihadism”, keynote speech, Society for Terrorism Research annual conference, 8 November 2016 

Why Terrorists Weep“, Paul Wilkinson Memorial Lecture, University of St Andrews, 16 April 2015

The future of terrorism studies“, paper presented at the Naval War College, 26 March 2013

“The Origins of Global Jihad: Explaining the Arab Mobilization to the 1980s Afghan Jihad”, Harvard Kennedy School, 22 January 2009.

Al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia and Yemen“, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 24 November 2008.

Orthodoxy and Radicalism in Saudi Arabia“, CSIS Congressional Forum on Islam, 3 March 2008.

Political Violence in Saudi Arabia: The Rise and Fall of al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula“, Princeton University, 2 March 2007.

 “Strategic Studies in Jihadist Literature“, Middle East Institute, Washington DC, 17 May 2006.

Working papers

Bibliography on jihadism in Scandinavia v1.2 (7 November 2018)

“Interpersonal Trust on Jihadi Internet Forums” (draft book chapter)

Publikasjoner på norsk

Fagfellevurderte artikler

Skandinavias første jihadister“, Babylon 2 (2018).

Irak-konflikten og radikal islamistisk ideologi“, Internasjonal Politikk 4 (2004).Bokkapitler

En oversikt over islamistiske terroristgrupper,” i B E Rasch (red.), Islamistisk terrorisme, Oslo: Abstrakt, 2005.

Islamsk terror og krigen mot Irak,” i B E Rasch et al (red.), Spillet om Irak, Oslo: Abstrakt, 2004.Rapporter

Reformprocesser og sikkerhedsudfordringer på den arabiske halvø [med S Hove], København: Det danske utenriksministerium (2006)

Dokumentasjon om al-Qaida: Intervjuer, kommunikéer og andre primærkilder, (Kjeller: FFI, 2003).

Atommateriale, gass og mikrober som terrorvåpen? En undersøkelse av terrorgruppers interesse for og bruk av ikke-konvensjonelle våpen [med B Lia, R-I Vogt-Andresen, Å Kjøk and L Bokhari] (Kjeller: FFI, 2002).

Ikke fagfellevurderte artikler

“Norske fremmedkrigere i går og i dag”Norsk statsvitenskapelig tidsskrift 30, 4 (2014).

 “Al-Qaida ti år etter“, FFI-Fokus 1 (2011).

Sikkerhetspolitiske implikasjoner av opprørene i Midtøsten“, DNAK Kortinfo 1 (2011).

Al-Qaidas rekruttskoler,” Norsk militært tidsskrift 178, 2 (2008).

Palestina og global jihad,” Babylon 4, (2004).

Al-Qaida etter Afghanistan“, Kortinfo 12 (Oslo: Den norske atlanterhavskomité, 2002).

Kronikker

En risikabel forskningsrevolusjon“, Aftenposten, 16. oktober 2019

Skandinavias ukjente jihad-historie“, VG, 8. februar 2019.

Flyktningkrisens radikaliseringsutfordringer“, Aftenposten, 21. september 2016

Verden er større enn EU” [med Thomas Hylland Eriksen og Stein Tønnesson], Aftenposten, 7. juni 2016

EU-forskning koster Norge dyrt” [med Thomas Hylland Eriksen og Stein Tønnesson], Aftenposten, 25. mai 2016

“Hjelper politibevæpning mot terror?”VG, 4. desember 2014.

“Det kom aldri noen penger til å forske på høyreekstremisme etter 22. juli”Aftenposten, 12. november 2014.

“IS og fremmedkrigerne”Romerikes Blad, 31. oktober 2014.

“Ekstreme fremmedkrigere”Forsvarets forum, 24 June 2014.

Hvem skal betale for forskning på høyreekstreme?” Forskning.no, 11. januar 2014.

Ensporet terrorforskning?“, Aftenposten, 9 August 2011.

Truer verden med terrorangrep” [med B Lia], Dagsavisen, 15. august 2009.

Saudi-Arabias terrorismeproblem“, Aftenposten, 18. juni 2004.

Mer terror etter en krig mot Irak?“, Aftenposten, 20. februar 2003.

Selvmordsaksjoner i Oslo?” [med K Vogt], Aftenposten, 23. april 2002.

Bomber mot terrorisme?“, Aftenposten, 10. november 2001.

Bokanmeldelser

Steve Coll, The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century, New York: Penguin, 2007, anmeldt i Morgenbladet, 6. juni 2008.

Mattias Gardell, Bin Laden i våre hjerter, Oslo: Spartacus, 2007, anmeldt i Babylon 6, 1 (2008).Foredrag og presentasjoner

Trender og utviklingstrekk i internasjonal terrorisme etter 11. september 2001“, 22. juli-kommisjonen, 17. januar 2012. 

Trender og fremtidsutsikter i internasjonal terrorisme“, Forsvarspolitisk utvalg, 8. november 2006.

Terrorgrupper og kommunikasjon, bakgrunnsdokument for høring om terrorlovgivning i Det danske folketing, 10. mai 2006.