Briefing Paper

Politics and Terrorism An Assessment of the Origin and Threat of Terrorism in Egypt

“The aim of this paper will be to provide insight into the underlying reasons for acts of terrorism in Egypt. In other words, the focus will be on identifying and discussing the development of terrorism in that country
in an attempt to reflect on the circumstances that made that country vulnerable to terrorism. Clearly Egypt is
not only more prone than other countries to being the target of terrorism, but its nationals have also become involved as agents of terrorism or leading figures
in al-Qa’eda. In analysing the re-emergence of the threat of terrorism in Egypt, it will first be important to reflect briefly on the development of this threat and on the primary roleplayers in three distinctive cycles of domestic terrorism. The influence of Egyptian nationals in the development of transnational terrorism will also be referred to. It is equally valuable to focus on the manner in which governments and their security forces reacted to the threat, not to criticise, but to learn from these lessons.”