Overview
ICCT has been conducting work pertaining to “Foreign Fighters” – or individuals that have for a variety of reasons and with different (ideological) backgrounds joined an armed conflict abroad – since mid-2012. In this regard, ICCT has co-chaired the Radicalisation Awareness Network’s Internal/External Working Group and organised both closed and public events on the topic. ICCT is also conducting capacity building projects in the MENA region and continues to brief a range of international, regional and national authorities as well as the media on the topic. Additionally, the Centre has been exploring a range of issues related to legal, preventative, motivational and rehabilitative aspects of the phenomenon in its publications.
Featured
The Foreign Fighters Phenomenon in the EU - Profiles, Threats & PoliciesIn a study commissioned by the Netherlands National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV), ICCT analyses the foreign fighter phenomenon by looking not only the numbers and characteristics of foreign fighters across the EU, but also how the Union and Member States assess the threat of foreign fighters as well as their policy responses regarding security, preventive and legislative measures. The Report also outlines a series of policy options aimed both at the EU and its Member States.
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Rehabilitation for Foreign Fighters? Relevance, Challenges and Opportunities for the Criminal Justice Sector
This Policy Brief aims to inform the current debate on integrating rehabilitation into the overall approach to foreign fighters by highlighting the challenges and opportunities within the criminal justice sector response.
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Foreign (Terrorist) Fighters with IS: A European Perspective
In this Research Paper, ICCT Research Fellow Dr. Alex P. Schmid analyses the widely diverging foreign fighter estimates. Having identified push and pull as well as resilience factors that facilitate or inhibit young Muslims joining ISIS, he argues that stopping them from departing to Syria is not enough; political solutions have to be sought.
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Foreign (Terrorist) Fighter Estimates: Conceptual and Data Issues
In this Policy Brief, Dr. Alex P. Schmid discusses various definitions of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) by disaggregating the “foreign”, “terrorist” and “fighters” elements of the UN Security Council definition in resolution 2178 (2014). Subsequently, an attempt is made to bring structure to the widely diverging estimates of the numbers of foreign fighters and their origins.
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Fickle Foreign Fighters? A Cross-Case Analysis of Seven Muslim Foreign Fighter Mobilisations (1980-2015)
In this Research Paper, Dr. Isabelle Duyvesteyn and Bram Peeters study seven conflicts that in the past 35 years have triggered Muslims worldwide to leave their home country and become a so-called foreign fighter.
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Motives and Considerations of Potential Foreign Fighters from the Netherlands
In this Policy Brief, Prof. Dr. Edwin Bakker and Peter Grol studied several cases of potential foreign fighters. These observations form the basis of policy suggestions that could contribute to the prevention policy within the framework of the “Comprehensive Action Programme to Combat Jihadism” of the Dutch government.
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Identifying foreign terrorist fighters: The Role of Public-Private Partnership, Information Sharing and Financial Intelligence
In this Research Paper, Visiting Research Fellow Tom Keatinge asks what barriers exist to greater partnership and information sharing between the security authorities and the financial-services industry in tackling terrorism.
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Challenging the Narrative of the "Islamic State"
Dr. Alex Schmid identifies a dozen narrative themes of ISIS and discusses them from different angles in an attempt to show vulnerabilities and point the way towards developing convincing counter-arguments.
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Responding to Foreign Fighters: A Quick Overview for People with Little Time
In this Commentary Dr. Christophe Paulussen gives a quick snap-shot of the foreign fighters phenomenon, which is a complex and multi-faceted issue.
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Pathways of Foreign Fighters: Policy Options and Their (Un)Intended Consequences
In this Policy Brief, Dr. Alastair Reed, Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn and Prof. Dr. Edwin Bakker look at the different pathways foreign fighters could take once they have arrived in Syria or Iraq.
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European Female Jihadists in Syria: Exploring an Under-Researched Topic
The number of young Western women travelling abroad to join the "Islamic State" (IS) continues to increase. However, little is known about these women, including their motivations and roles within organisations such as IS. This Background Note provides preliminary answers and explain what is known so far.
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The New Security Council Resolution 2178 on Foreign Terrorist Fighters: A Missed Opportunity for a Holistic Approach
This Commentary reviews the new UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014) on foreign terrorist fighters.
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Addressing the Foreign Terrorist Fighters Phenomenon From a European Union Perspective
A Policy Brief based on the expert meeting at the European Union to discuss the implications of UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014) on foreign fighters and to explore responses to the threat foreign fighters pose.
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Returning Western Foreign Fighters: The Case of Afghanistan, Bosnia and Somalia
In this Background Note, Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn and Prof. Dr. Edwin Bakker investigate three historical cases of foreign fighting: Afghanistan (1980s), Bosnia (1990s) and Somalia (2000s).
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The Return of Europe’s Foreign Fighters
This Commentary argues that the problem of returning foreign fighters to Europe will only increase and policymakers should look towards civil society and local communities for solutions.
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Dealing with European Foreign Fighters in Syria: Governance Challenges and Legal Implications
The increasing amount of foreign fighters brings the possibility that returnees have radicalised which makes them a potential threat.
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The Syrian Foreign Fighters Problem: A Test Case from The Netherlands
A court in The Netherlands recently convicted two men who wanted to travel to Syria to join the jihad. This Commentary analyses the two judgements and their wider implications.
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Destination Jihad: Why Syria and not Mali
This Commentary analyses the exodus of young European jihadists that are inundating Western intelligence services.
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Jihadist Foreign Fighter Phenomenon in Western Europe: A Low-Probability, High-Impact Threat
In this Research Paper, Prof. Dr. Edwin Bakker and Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn explore the threat that returning foreign fighters may pose to Western societies. By analysing four distinct areas where the impact of this phenomenon is most visible, the authors determine the extent of the threat in physical, political and social terms.
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The Foreign Fighters Phenomenon in the EU - Profiles, Threats & Policies
In this Report commissioned by the Netherlands National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV), ICCT analyses the numbers and characteristics of foreign fighters, how the EU and Member States assess the threat as well as their policy responses regarding security, preventive and legislative measures.
Read more