Rik Coolsaet

Professor Rik Coolsaet is a Belgian academic. He teaches International Relations at Ghent University, Belgium and is Director of the Security and Global Governance Department at the Royal Institute of International Relations, Brussels. He is a member of the European Commission Expert Group on Violent Radicalisation (established in 2006).

He has held several high-ranking official positions, such as deputy chief of the Cabinet of the Belgian Minister of Defence (1988-1992) and deputy chief of the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (1992-1995). On the issue of terrorism he has been coordinating research on jihadi terrorism, that resulted in several publications. His most recent publication on this topic is "Jihadi Terrorism and the Radicalisation Challenge in Europe" (Ashgate, London, 2008).

He also published the first comprehensive study on the history of Belgian foreign policy (Belgium and its foreign policy 1830-2000, 4rd revised edition, 2003, in Dutch and partly in French). He also researched the evolution of diplomacy (The Transformation of Diplomacy at the Threshold of the New Millennium, in: Jönsson, C., Langhorne, R., "Diplomacy". London, Sage, 2004, Vol. III). He has written and commented extensively on international relations and Belgian foreign policy. His present research includes terrorism, long-term change patterns in international relations and the dynamics behind today's world order. His latest publication is "A History of Tomorrow’s World" ("Geschiedenis van de wereld van morgen", 2008, in Dutch).

External links

* [http://www.rikcoolsaet.be www.rikcoolsaet.be]
* [http://www.rikcoolsaet.be/en/about.php Biography]

Further reading

* International Herald Tribune, "William Pfaff: To Europe, Bush is only creating more terrorists", January 30, 2006 [http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/29/opinion/edpfaff.php] , quoting some of Rik Coolsaet's views on terrorism.