Abstract
In the first episode of Combating Jihadist Terrorism, CoJiT Editorial Director, Dr Richards speaks to leading scholar Jytte Klausen of Brandeis University about the nature and severity of the threat presented by the Al Qaeda and ISIS terrorist groups. Professor Klausen discusses her findings from research for her most recent book Western Jihadism: A Thirty Year History (2021, OUP) and outlines her thoughts on the leadership, current motivations and thinking behind Al Qaeda and ISIS as well as the state of current western responses to Jihadist terrorism over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.