Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in subsequent chapters of this book. The book evaluates the effectiveness of the legislative responses to this phenomenon in Australia and the United Kingdom. The concentration upon legislation—as opposed to non-legislative, civil society, and military responses—is apt given that this has been the default official reaction to the threat of terrorism in both jurisdictions. The book directs attention to both categories of legislation. It focuses on three types of measures enacted or amended in response to the foreign terrorist fighters phenomenon: criminal measures, hybrid sanctions, and immigration and citizenship laws. The book does not limit itself to the prevailing stereotype of the foreign terrorist fighter as a Westerner who travels to the Syrian or Iraqi conflicts to fight alongside Islamic State. Instead, it calls attention to the diverse challenges which the phenomenon poses, especially in so far as young people and opponents of Islamic State are concerned.