Wietse van den Berge
Wietse van den Berge a Research Fellow at ICCT. He studied political science at Leiden University, specialising in international relations and political philosophy. After graduating in 2002, he joined the Royal Netherlands Air Force and attended the Royal Netherlands Military Academy. A 12-month internship at the academy’s military science faculty followed completion of his officer training, researching military history and military operations. Wietse held several ranks within the Air Force and in 2011-2012 he served as a military observer for the United Nations in the Middle East. He was triggered by personally witnessing the Arab uprisings in that region to return to his academic career. Since joining Leiden University’s the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) in 2013, his focus centres on political violence in contemporary Middle Eastern conflicts. Within ICCT, Wietse is involved in a project concerning foreign terrorist fighters.
E-mail: wvandenberge@icct.nl
By Dr. Lorne L. Dawson. As many commentators have argued, much of the extraordinary success of IS in recruiting foreign fighters stemmed from their more explicitly apocalyptic vision of the struggle against the enemies of Islam. Swift military success was followed by the restoration of the Caliphate and pronouncements of the imminent and final global […]
Children have always been among the most vulnerable victims of violence and, at times, some of its brutal purveyors. They have played various roles in furthering violent extremism and participating in acts of violence, ranging from inciting propaganda online to carrying out deadly attacks. Rather than exceptionalizing these children, their treatment under the criminal justice […]
The EU is spending hundreds of millions of euros annually in Africa on countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism projects, but is that funding allocated appropriately or even the right kind of support? Evidence from the field suggests it is not. The problem is that while EU aid can improve the capacity of regional and […]