Radical Islam in East Africa

by Angel M. Rabasa

American geopolitical interests and the potential threats to those interests are both on the rise in East Africa. The author places the spread of militant Islamism and the development of radical Islamist networks in East Africa in the broader context of the social, economic, and political factors that have shaped the region's security environment.

110 pages, Paperback

First published November 12, 2007

About the author

Dr. Angel M. Rabasa was a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. He wrote extensively about extremism, terrorism, and insurgency. He was the lead author of The Lessons of Mumbai (2009); Radical Islam in East Africa (2009); The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey (2008); Ungoverned Territories: Understanding and Reducing Terrorism Risks (2007); Building Moderate Muslim Networks (2007); Beyond al-Qaeda, Part 1: The Global Jihadist Movement and Part 2: The Outer Rings of the Terrorist Universe (2006); and The Muslim World After 9/11 (2004). He completed the research on patterns of Islamist radicalization and terrorism in Europe, and worked on a project on deradicalization of Islamist extremists.

Other works include the International Institute for Strategic Studies Adelphi Paper No. 358, Political Islam in Southeast Asia: Moderates, Radicals, and Terrorists (2003); The Military and Democracy in Indonesia: Challenges, Politics, and Power (2002), with John Haseman; and Indonesia's Transformation and the Stability of Southeast Asia (2001), with Peter Chalk. Before joining RAND, Rabasa served in the U.S. Departments of State and Defense. He was a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the International Studies Association, and the American Foreign Service Association.

Rabasa earned a B.A. and Ph.D. in history from Harvard University and was a Knox Fellow at St. Antony's College, Oxford University.

Dr. Rabasa passed away on September 25, 2016.