“Nobody, but really nobody, with the exception of France, wants them back.”
Daniel Boffey et.al (The Guardian)The protracted search for a new place in the concert of nations
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Four years of war had dramatically changed the face of the country. For decades, Belgium had been one of the top five industrial powers. But the war and the occupation put a stop to Belgian global expansion: by 1918 the country was devastated, its industrial heritage dismantled. The pre-war illusion that neutrality would protect the land forever had evaporated.
Rik Coolsaet (Beyond the Great War. Belgium 1918-1928. Lannoo)How Is Belgium Living With Its ISIS Returnees?
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The country’s policy towards returning jihadists has evolved, and it has security lessons other countries could learn from. But Belgium also has a long way to go in tackling the problems that helped drive many young people towards ISIS in the first place
Eleanor Beevor (Al Bawaba (Jordan))Children in the Levant
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According to intelligence estimates, there are around 1,400 European children in Syria and Iraq, many of them born there. The fate of these children confronts European governments with moral, legal, political, diplomatic and security dilemmas. Governments are divided over the issue, but almost all are reluctant to address it head-on.
Thomas Renard, Rik Coolsaet (Security Policy Brief Egmont)The Homecoming of Foreign Fighters in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium: Policies and Challenges
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In this Perspective, Rik Coolsaet and Thomas Renard comment on the risks posed by returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters, and examine how Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands have attempted to address these risks.
Rik Coolsaet, Thomas Renard (ICCT)Reassessing Belgium’s “Failed” Counterterrorism Policy
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Belgium has earned a bad name in counterterrorism circles, with critics charging that its security services did too little too late when it came to disrupting the Islamic State and other groups on Belgian soil. The tragic terrorist attack in Brussels two years ago, however, marked a turning point.
Thomas Renard, Rik Coolsaet (Lawfare)How Belgium Overcame the Threat from Returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters
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Two years have passed since terrorists struck at the heart of Brussels, and Belgium has done well in dealing with the threat. However, complacency may be setting in.
Thomas Renard, Rik Coolsaet (RUSI)Studie zu IS-Rückkehrern
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Forscher haben die Rückreisewelle aus den IS-Gebieten nach Europa analysiert. Sie machen deutlich, wie schwierig die Rückkehrer durch die Sicherheitsbehörden zu beurteilen sind – halten aber auch eine positive Botschaft bereit.
Florian Flade (Die Welt)Top Paris Attacks Suspect on Trial for First Time, in Brussels
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The four-day trial of 28-year-old Salah Abdeslam will not deal directly with the November 2015 attacks that killed 130 people around Paris, but rather a shootout with police months later.
Lisa Bryant (Voice of America)Anticipating the Post-ISIS Landscape in Europe
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New York was once again the scene of a terrorist attack. A truck plowed down a crowded bike path in Lower Manhattan. A handwritten message near the truck indicated the driver’s allegiance to the Islamic State: “It will endure forever,” the note said. But will it?
Rik Coolsaet (Clingendael Spectator)The quest for vital interests and objectives in the foreign policy of Belgium
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Belgium’s foreign policy in the past five years reveals a contrasted picture. Starting in 2009-2010, an exhaustive assessment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) resulted in significant changes in the workings and organization of the ministry. But the question what policy objectives the MFA was supposed to pursue remained largely unaddressed.
Rik Coolsaet (Studia Diplomatica)