ABSTRACT
The Islamist terrorist wave in Europe that started in 2015 has indicated structural changes. Transnational terrorism has become hybrid, particularly in the currently dominant form of jihadist terrorism. Hybridity in this context concerns organization, motivation, radicalization, strategy, tactics, perpetrators as well as scenarios. A hybrid threat arises from the convergent interaction of various elements of violence, which together manifest a considerably more substantial, heterogeneous threat. This multidimensional aspect covering recent expressions of transnational terrorism, combining group or individual attacks, “homebounds” or “homegrowns” involved, connections with abroad or none, etc., suggests a growing convergence. Furthermore, the deliberate combination of different building blocks, following the “LEGO principle” of terrorist action (assassins, scenarios, armament, etc.) renders current organized terrorist attacks more complex in terms of their anticipation, and thus more dangerous. On that account, suitable adaptive responses from defense authorities must be complex as well. At a first glance, seemingly unorthodox connections (target selection, tactical approach, armament, effects etc.) are made, taken into account for tactical preparation, and used by commandos (or single actors). These hybrid scenarios, however, reveal in their effectiveness and lethality, an unprecedented, negative quality. An effective counter-terrorism strategy to tackle hybrid terrorism has to be set up broadly and needs to anticipate the realities of a virtually unlimited spectrum of attacks. This can only be properly done if the required interdepartmental and international cooperation between security authorities is implemented accordingly.
