Daniel Dory wrote a review of Terrorism Events Worldwide, 2023-2024 in the French magazine, Conflits. Read the original review in French here or the English translation:
Edward Mickolus’s works are a valuable resource for those studying terrorism. A review of his latest publications.
The scientific study of terrorism is largely dependent on access to reliable, comparable datasets covering the longest possible periods. Currently, only two readily accessible databases allow for research in this area: the Global Terrorism Database maintained at the University of Maryland [1] , and ITERATE (International Terrorism: Attributes of Terrorist Events), created by Edward Mickolus, which dates back to 1968. This latter database, available in digital format and in print as books, offers a wealth of information difficult to find elsewhere, let alone compiled in a single volume.
It is therefore with interest that we await the publication of the latest issue of Terrorism Events Worldwide , which this time covers the years 2023 and 2024. Among the reasons why this publication deserves to be known, we can cite the following three.
First, at the beginning of each volume, Mickolus presents a brief summary of the main trends of the year, certainly from a perspective very much linked to that of the United States (which is predictable for a former CIA officer), but usefully covering issues such as the evolution of certain entities using terrorism, the fate of some important players and especially the remarkable innovations in recent terrorist activity.
Next, terrorist attacks, especially international ones, are broken down by country and described after identifying the source (usually a news agency or identifiable media outlet). For each incident, therefore, we have access to basic information, such as that reported by the media as it unfolds. As a result, reading the entries dedicated to each country provides a good initial understanding of the nature and intensity of the terrorist activity occurring there. In this respect, one could almost suggest that these volumes are, for terrorism researchers, a valuable complement to the tourist guides they consult when choosing a travel destination.
Finally, and this is a valuable addition, the end of the volume includes a section dedicated to updating the data contained in previous issues. For example, this latest volume contains information for France regarding the trial following the beheading of Samuel Paty on October 16, 2020 (pp. 273-274).
Thus, in its conception and content, Mickolus’s work does not duplicate any other documentary work on terrorism, and enriches the discussion with carefully compiled information. Furthermore, it includes a short bibliography containing references not exclusively in English, which is rare enough to warrant mention.
[1] On our use of this resource, see: Daniel Dory; Hervé Théry, “The geographical approach to terrorism: questions of method”, L’Information Géographique , Vol. 86, 2022, 29-48.
