ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has changed the way societies function, which has implications for terrorism and terrorist threats. This chapter sheds light on a possible future. It will take time to clarify what evident causal links there are between the events of the pandemic and longer-term changes in politically motivated violence and terrorism, and what is merely an acceleration of existing trends. In a post-COVID-19 era, the state will become more powerful, first as crisis manager and, after some time, as administrator. This may cause anti-governmental and anti-establishment movements that resort to violence. The chapter compares corresponding developments in the United States, but also in relation to China, as an emerging globally dominant player. Resentments against governments can range from discontent in unexpected niches in a society to outright rejection in others. In either case, these resentments become a significant driver of politically motivated violence.
