Thomas Renard
Biography
Dr. Thomas Renard joined the Egmont Institute in 2009 and was a Senior Research Fellow until 2021, when he became Director of the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) in The Hague. He remains closely involved with Egmont as a Senior Associate Fellow.
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, on anti-government extremism, on (returning) foreign fighters, on radicalization in prison and on terrorist recidivism. His latest monograph is The Evolution of Counter-Terrorism since 9/11 (Routledge, September 2021). He also co-edited two books in 2024 (ICCT Press): Russia and the Far-Right: Insights from Ten European Countries, and Female Jihadis Facing Justice: Comparing Approaches in Europe. 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), the European Commission 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, etc.).
In 2024, Dr. Renard was appointed by the European Commission as member of the Research Committee of the EU Knowledge Hub on the Prevention of Radicalisation, and by Europol as a steering committee member of the European Counter-Terrorism Centre (ECTC) Advisory Network on terrorism and propaganda. He is also a Senior Associate Fellow at the UNESCO-PREV Chair at the University of Sherbrooke. ?Furthermore, he is the Chair of the Steering Board of Perspectives on Terrorism, a leading academic peer-reviewed journal, and he sits in various scientific committees or advisory boards. He is also a member of the International Gender Champions (ICG), committed to ensure gender equity in his work and organisation.
Dr. Renard 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). He was also Adjunct Professor at the Brussels School of Governance, at the Free University Brussels (2015-21).
All his publications are available at: www.thomasrenard.eu
Publications
- A New ‘Regicides’ Era? Analyzing Trends in Terrorism Threats Against European Elected Officials External publications
- Russia and the Far-Right: Insights From Ten European Countries Books
- What the Zeitgeist can Tell us About the Future of Terrorism External publications
- The Evolution of Counter-Terrorism Since 9/11 Books
- Counter-Terrorism as a Public Policy: Theoretical Insights and Broader Reflections on the State of Counter-Terrorism Research External publications
- The evolution of the policy response to jihadi returnees in Europe (2012-2020) External publications
- Strengthening rather than merging Belgian intelligence services Commentaries
- Strategic Partnerships: The rise and fall of an idea External publications
- The caliphate’s legacy and fringe extremists Commentaries
- Enfants belges en Syrie: l’inacceptable « choix de Sophie » External publications
- From bad to worse: The fate of European foreign fighters and families detained in Syria, one year after the Turkish offensive Security Policy Briefs
- Extremist offender management in Belgium External publications
- On the repatriation of Belgian children and fighters in Syria Commentaries
- The emergence of cyber diplomacy in an increasingly post-liberal cyberspace Commentaries
- Power and diplomacy in the post-liberal cyberspace External publications
- The EU’s international politics of cyberspace in an emerging post-liberal order Commentaries
- Overblown: Exploring the gap between the fear of terrorist recidivism and the evidence External publications
- Foreign Fighters trials in Syria: not a solution Commentaries
- Foreign Fighters and the Terrorist Threat in Belgium Commentaries
- Returnees in the Maghreb. A European perspective Security Policy Briefs