Without any hard facts I would suggest four main reasons why we have so many young Europeans fighting with Islamic extremists in Syria and now in Iraq compared to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

1) Demography or a far larger recruitment pool: There are considerable more young Muslim living in Europe nowadays then thirty years ago, at least by a factor 2-3 I guess.

2) Geography or a far more easily reached conflict

3) Globalization, especially in media terms: Social media, internet sites and various TV stations bring the conflict with far greater intensity into one's new home and mind.

4) Duration or a mix of enduring conflicts.


The danger of terrorist strikes within Europe by the new generation is also increased by an additional factor:

5) Islamic terrorism against Western targets in much more in vogue then thirty years ago with plenty of examples.