Who Goes, Why, and With What Effects: The Problem of Foreign Fighters from Europe

Abstract

This article explores the phenomenon of Islamist foreign fighters, more specifically the movement of European Muslims to participate in the insurgencies in Syria and Iraq connected to the Islamic State/Daesh as well as the anti-Assad forces in Syria and the implications for European state stability. Drawing on personal psychology, social psychology, and social movement theory the article offers an integrated theoretical framework to analyze the radicalization of Islamist foreign fighters. Building on Danish data of Islamist foreign fighters, the article provides a first test of the analytical usefulness of this framework. The article further considers what distinguishes the Islamists that go from those that under similar circumstances stay behind, and whether this is a differences of kind or a difference of degree. Finally, we discuss the question of how much of a threat foreign fighter returnees pose to European states.

Keywords:

• Islamic transnational insurgents
• foreign fighters
• radicalization
• mobilization

Notes

1. CTA, Udviklingen i terrortruslen.

2. Bouhanna and Wikström, ‘Theorizing Terrorism’, 10.

3. Coolsaet, ‘What Drives Europeans to Syria’, 3.

4. Bertelsen, ‘Danish Preventive Measures’; Braw, ‘Inside Denmark’s Radical Jihadist Rehabilitation Programme’.

5. Regeringen, Forebyggelse.

6. Coolsaet, ‘What Drives Europeans to Syria’; Barrett, ‘Foreign Fighters in Syria’; Weggemans et al., ‘Who Are They’.

7. Bertelsen, Tilværelsespsykologi; Threatened Fundamental Life Embeddedness.

8. Hogg, ‘Self-Uncertainty’; ‘From Uncertainty to Extremism’.

9. Bertelsen, Threatened Fundamental Life Embeddedness, 3.

10. Hogg, ‘From Uncertainty to Extremism’.

11. Hogg et al., ‘The Solace of Radicalism’; Hogg and Adelman, ‘Uncertainty-Identity Theory’.

12. Hogg, ‘Self-Uncertainty’; ‘From Uncertainty to Extremism’; McCauley and Moskalenko, ‘Mechanisms of Political Radicalization’.

13. Bertelsen, Threatened Fundamental Life Embeddedness.

14. Ibid., 9.

15. Sheikh, ‘Fra barndommens gade’.

16. See also Weggemans et al., ‘Who Are They’.

17. Sheikh, ‘Fra barndommens gade’.

18. Compare with life story 1 in Weggemans et al., ‘Who Are They’.

19. Bertelsen, Threatened Fundamental Life Embeddedness, 10.

20. Coolsaet, ‘What Drives Europeans to Syria’, 13.

21. Lindekilde, ‘Abu Shaibul’s Study Group’.

22. Schussman and Soule, ‘Process and Protest’.

23. Wiktorovitz, Radical Islam Rising; della Porta, Social Movements; Sageman, Leaderless Jihad.

24. Lindekilde and Kühle, Radicalization.

25. Wiktorowicz, Radical Islam Rising.

26. Snow et al., ‘Frame Alignment Processes’; Noakes and Johnston, ‘Frames of Protest’.

27. Tarrow, Power in Movement.

28. See also Weggemans et al., ‘Who Are They’, 7.

29. Myers, ‘Discussion-induced Attitude Polarization’; Isenberg, ‘Group Polarization’.

30. Hogg, ‘Self-Uncertainty’; ‘From Uncertainty to Extremism’.

31. Bertelsen, Threatened Fundamental Life Embeddedness.

32. Lindekilde and Kühle, Radicalization; Hegghammer, ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’, 8.

33. Abelson, ‘Are Attitudes Necessary?’

34. Cf. Weggemans et al., ‘Who Are They’.

35. Cf. social comparison effect, Myers et al., ‘Does Learning Others’ Opinions’.

36. Schmid, ‘Radicalisation’; McCauley and Moskalenko, Friction.

37. McAdam, ‘Recruitment to High-Risk Activism’.

38. See Della Porta and Diani, Social Movements, 117.

39. Putnam, Bowling Alone.

40. Della Porta and Diani, Social Movements, 118.

41. Stouffer et al., The American Soldier.

42. Atran, ‘The Making of a Terrorist’, 13.

43. Kelman, ‘Violence Without Moral Restraint’.

44. Jones, Blood That Cries Out, 15; Bandura, ‘Moral Disengagement’.

45. Bandura, ‘Selective Moral Disengagement’.

46. Litz et al., ‘Moral Injury’.

47. See also Hemmingsen, ‘Bliver Syrien en skole’.