Terrorism in the West 2008 provides a comprehensive examination of terrorism events, and landmark court cases, that occurred in the West in 2008. Included in the assessment are religious, political, nationalist, and single-issue terrorist groups. The study also highlights discernible trends in violent extremist activity, and what this means for the future of the terrorist threat.

In recent years, over two hundred men and women born or raised in the West have participated in, or provided support for Islamic terrorist plots and attacks. Several studies have examined the demographics of homegrown Islamic terrorists: their socioeconomic status, education level, professional prospects, and possible mental illnesses. To date, no study has empirically examined the process through which these terrorists are radicalizing, which constitutes a substantial gap in the literature. This study seeks to address that gap through an empirical examination of 117 homegrown "jihadist" terrorists from the U.S. and U.K.