The Taliban Takeover: The Impact on Extremist Organisations and on EU Audiences At Risk of Radicalisation

Despite expectations of the contrary, the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban did not have a major direct impact on grassroots audiences within the EU. The Taliban have no interest in European jihadism, while the two main global jihadist organisations, Al Qa’ida (AQ) and Da’esh, were, for different reasons, not well positioned to exploit the events of Kabul for promoting jihadist ideas in Europe. Da’esh of course, saw the Taliban’s takeover as a threat and could not use it to advance its cause in Europe. AQ, on the other hand, decided not to exploit the opportunity, because it felt unsecure in its relationship with the Taliban and because of reservations on the ideologically spurious character of the regime. This report reviews propaganda and social media activities of jihadists and right-wing extremist (RWE) groups and assesses the impact of the fall of Kabul on their narratives.