Should I Stay or Should I Go? Explaining Variation in Western Jihadists' Choice between Domestic and Foreign Fighting

Abstract

T his article studies variation in conflict theater choice by Western jihadists in an effort to understand their motivations. Some militants attack at home, whereas others join insurgencies abroad, but few scholars have asked why they make these different choices. Using open-source data, I estimate recruit supply for each theater, foreign fighter return rates, and returnee impact on domestic terrorist activity. The tentative data indicate that jihadists prefer foreign fighting, but a minority attacks at home after being radicalized, most often through foreign fighting or contact with a veteran. Most foreign fighters do not return for domestic operations, but those who do return are more effective operatives than nonveterans. The findings have implications for our understanding of the motivations of jihadists, for assessments of the terrorist threat posed by foreign fighters, and for counterterrorism policy.

Social Network Analysis of German Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq

“…15 As Hegghammer points out, most Western jihadists participate in foreign conflicts because they see fighting in Muslim lands as legitimate selfdefense, not an act of aggression. 16 Two recent studies substantiate the claim that Muslim foreign fighters from Europe are motivated, in part, by a sense of duty toward suffering Muslims. 17 Threat to transnational identity, however, is insufficient to explain who eventually heeds the clarion call to join a distant conflict.…”

Global Citizenship Education: A Potential Contributing Factor to Youth Radicalization and Terrorism Engagement

“…It is no longer a matter of choosing to engage in local or foreign fighting (Hegghammer, 2013, Cited by Khouwaga & Emmerling, 2017 but to fight anywhere possible depending on context and available resources to them.…”

The Role of Former Combatants in Preventing Youth Involvement in Terrorism in Northern Ireland: A Framework for Assessing Former Islamic State Combatants

“…While this research has focused on reintegrating (former) combatants back into society within which they were militarily active, the fluid conflict boundaries for IS fighters weakens the distinction between internal former combatants and external former combatants. Furthermore, as will be shown, the blurred distinction between former combatants and active combatants -whether at least in the mind of the individuals themselves -in the cases looked at in conflict studies and potentially for some returning Islamic State combatants, 13 further underlines the benefit of drawing on literature on former combatants even if the term conflict does not necessarily apply to the UK experience.…”