Thomas Renard

​Dr. Thomas Renard is Director of ICCT. His research focuses on (counter-)terrorism and (counter-)radicalisation in Europe. His recent research has focused on the evolution of counter-terrorism policy in liberal democracies since 2001, on (returning) foreign fighters, on radicalization in prison and on terrorist recidivism. His latest book is The Evolution of Counter-Terrorism since 9/11 (Routledge, September 2021), whereas his research has been published in many journals and think tanks, including: International Affairs, Perspectives on Terrorism, CTC Sentinel, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, ICCT or RUSI. He presented his research findings in many policy venues, including the UN Security Council, UN CTED, the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), and the European Parliament, among others, and his recommendations regularly inform global policy discussions. He also contributes regularly to media worldwide (New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, BBC, Le Monde).

Dr. Renard is also a member of the expert pool of the EU’s Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN), an Associate Researcher at the UNESCO-PREV Chair at the University of Sherbrooke, and sits on a number of scientific committees. He obtained his PhD from Ghent University in 2021. His dissertation was awarded the ‘Best Doctoral Dissertation on Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism’ by the Terrorism Research Initiative (TRI). He also holds a MA in International Affairs from the George Washington University (GWU) and a MA in Journalism from the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL). Previously, Dr. Renard worked at the Egmont Institute, at the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation (as the head of the Brussels office) and with the Jamestown Foundation. He was also Adjunct Professor at the Brussels School of Governance, at the Free University Brussels (2015-21).

You can contact Dr. Thomas Renard by sending an e-mail to t.renard@icct.nl

Selected Publications:

• COOLSAET, R., and RENARD, T. What the Zeitgeist can Tell us About the Future of Terrorism. Perspective, The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, 09 June 2022
• RENARD T. (2021) The Evolution of Counter-Terrorism Since 9/11: Understanding the Paradigm Shift in Liberal Democracies, London: Routledge.
• RENARD T. (2021) ‘Counter-Terrorism as a Public Policy: Theoretical Insights and Broader Reflections on the State of Counter-Terrorism Research’, Perspectives on Terrorism 15:4, pp. 2-10.
• RENARD T. (2021) ‘The evolution of the policy response to jihadi returnees in Europe (2012-2020)’, in C. Höhn, I. Saavedra, A. Weyembergh (eds), La lutte contre le terrorisme : ses acquis et ses défis / The fight against terrorism: achievements and challenges. Liber Amicorum Gilles de Kerchove, Brussels: Bruylant.
• RENARD T. (2021) The caliphate’s legacy and fringe extremists, Commentary, ICCT, 18 February.
• RENARD T. and R. COOLSAET (2020) ‘From bad to worse: The fate of European foreign fighters and families detained in Syria, one year after the Turkish offensive‘, Security Policy Brief 130, Brussels: Egmont Institute, October.
• RENARD T. (2020). ‘Overblown: Exploring the Gap Between the Fear of Terrorist Recidivism and the Evidence’, CTC Sentinel 13:4 (April), pp. 19-29.
• COOLSAET R. and T. RENARD (2018). The Homecoming of Foreign Fighters in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium: Policies and Challenges, ICCT, 11 April.
• RENARD T. and R. COOLSAET (eds) (2018), Returnees: who are they, why are they (not) coming back and how should we deal with them? Assessing policies on returning foreign terrorist fighters in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, Egmont Paper 101, Brussels: Egmont Institute, February.

All his publications are available at: www.thomasrenard.eu