Right-Wing Terrorism in the 21st Century

Daniel Koehler is the Director of the German Institute on Radicalization and De-Radicalization Studies (GIRDS).

One would have thought that German academics after 1945 would make right-wing political violence a major object of study – if only for the reason of history not repeating itself. However, avoidance of, rather than focus on, terrorism from the far right has been the reality. Now, 70 years after the defeat of National-Socialism, there is finally a longitudinal empirical analysis of political violence from the right. Based on a comprehensive database and a solid conceptual framework, Daniel Koehler has tested – and found wanting – the two most widely used theories on the phenomenon and thereby cleared the ground for a new understanding of what unfortunately is likely to be a rising phenomenon. A remarkable achievement - and long overdue.Prof. em. Alex P. Schmid, Director, Terrorism Research Initiative (TRI); Editor-in-Chief, Perspectives on Terrorism (PT); Research Fellow, International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The HagueDaniel Koehler has written an important and timely book on a critical dimension of terrorism studies that lamentably has received insufficient attention: extreme right-wing violence in Europe. His focus on Germany sheds light on the motives, networks, aspirations and the threat posed by this small, but ambitiously lethal and stubbornly persistent entity. This excellent work is noteworthy for to the thoroughness of the author's research, the compelling analysis he presents and unsettling conclusions he reaches.Professor Bruce Hoffman, Director, Center for Security Studies, Georgetown University, USADaniel Koehler’s new book is the most comprehensive study available on right-wing terrorism in Germany and also an important contribution to research on right-wing terrorism in general. His conceptual clarity and comprehensive collection of data makes for an admirable work of scholarship.Prof. Dr. Tore Bjørgo, Director of Center for the Study of Extremism: Right-Wing Extremism, Hate Crime and Political Violence (C-REX), University of Oslo, NorwayDaniel Köhler has written the most comprehensive account to date of right-wing terrorism in post-WWII Germany. The German case is critically important, not only because of its historical legacies, but also because Germany remains Western Europe’s definitive hotbed when it comes to contemporary right-wing militancy and violence. Köhler effectively sheds light on key actors and events from the past, while at the same time demonstrating that right-wing terrorism has become a continuous yet conceptually and legally elusive type of threat in Germany and beyond – a threat that will require more attention in the future.Jacob Assland Ravndal, Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX), University of Oslo, Norway

• Foreword1. Introduction 2. Methods and sources – the Database on Terrorism in Germany (DTG) 3. The Definition Problem 4. Right-wing Violence and Terrorism in Post Second World War Germany 5. The ‘National Socialist Underground (NSU)’ 6. Role of the Intelligence and Police Agencies 7. The Metrics of Right-wing Terrorism 8. German Right-Wing Terrorist and Violent Actors between 1963 and 2015 9. Conclusions and Lessons Learned