As Southeast Asia Reopens, Will Transnational Terrorism Return?
Terrorism in the region has plummeted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Will reopened borders lead to a resurgence in terrorist networks?
COVID-19, the climate crisis, the coup d’état in Myanmar, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the China-U.S. competition have dwarfed the relative severity of terrorism. Many would struggle to recall a significant terrorist attack during the COVID-plagued years. In a way, terrorism seems out of sight, out of mind.
That is no surprise. In recent years, terrorism in Southeast Asia has been on the decline. Based on the Southeast Asia Militant Atlas developed by the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR), S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), the number of violent terrorist incidents peaked in 2019 but experienced a steep decline after the onset of COVID-19 in 2020.
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SubscribeThe Authors
Kenneth Yeo is a research analyst from the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR), a specialist center of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) based in Singapore.