Project description
Dealing with the return of foreign fighters
The issue of foreign fighters is high on the political agenda at both Member State and EU level. The major hotbeds of foreign fighters’ smuggling and recruitment in Europe are located in Bosnia and Kosovo, both of which underwent civil wars that featured foreign fighters. But little is known as to why some foreign fighters continue fighting in other wars or continue by building networks with terrorists responsible for recent attacks in Europe. The EU-funded MPP project will focus on Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo to explain post-war pathways of foreign fighters. It will shed light on how foreign fighters pursued different paths in two similar post-conflict contexts (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo).
Objective
Foreign fighters pose a serious threat to Europe. Western intelligence agencies believe that approximately 400 foreign fighters have returned to the EU from Syria and Iraq, and that at least 250 radicalized individuals have been smuggled to Europe from 2014 until 2016. The major hotbeds of foreign fighters smuggling and recruitment are located in Europe itself, in Bosnia and Kosovo, both of which underwent civil wars that featured foreign fighters. We know little about how foreign fighters behave in the aftermath of such civil wars: why some continue fighting in other wars while others go back to civilian life. This is an unfortunate shortcoming because numerous studies have shown that some foreign fighters have demobilized in the aftermath of wars in Afghanistan and Bosnia, while others left for Chechnya, Iraq and Syria to continue jihad. Those who continued fighting built networks with terrorists who are responsible for recent attacks in Europe. It is, therefore, imperative to understand these dynamics in order to make sound decisions that can prevent terrorism in Europe. This project will remedy this shortcoming by pursuing three goals. First, the project will adopt a fresh theoretical framework for the study of foreign fighters. Drawing on organizational theory, career transition and political violence literature, the project aims to explain post-war pathways of foreign fighters as a function of their role in previous war(s). Such an approach goes beyond standard focus on motivations and will help elicit why foreign fighters demobilize or turn violent in a long-term perspective. Second, the project will obtain new empirical insights into how foreign fighters pursued different paths in two similar, post-conflict contexts (Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo). The third objective of the project is to develop a set of policy recommendations that will assist future policy makers in dealing with returning foreign fighters.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences law human rights human rights violations political violence
- social sciences political sciences political transitions terrorism
- social sciences political sciences political transitions revolutions
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
2311 EZ Leiden
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.