ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to present and analyze important aspects of deradicalization and social re-integration of foreign fighters. It reviews policy and theoretical insights which hopefully can help better understand the dynamics and processes which are related to the deradicalization of foreign fighters and how they should be addressed when devising relevant policies. Several characteristics of foreign fighters are especially relevant when evaluating the potential security threat that they represent. In many ways, however, foreign fighters represent a more challenging problem in comparison to regular home-grown radicalized individuals, who were the main focus of most deradicalization programs until the last few years. The inconclusive opinions within the academic community regarding the motivating factors of foreign fighters also position deradicalization efforts in a no-man’s land in terms of their focus and resource allocation. Jihadi groups that recruit foreign fighters reject nationalist sentiments and the concept of the nation-state and aspire to engage in a global, violent struggle.
