THE REPATRIATION OF FOREIGN FIGHTERS AND THEIR FAMILIES TO HOME COUNTRIES IN EUROPE

One of the modern problems of international security has become the phenomenon of foreign fighters who, as inhabitants of European states, go to Syria and Iraq to join terrorist groups. Some of the fighters subsequently decide, for one reason or another, to repatriate back to Europe. This creates a security dilemma for many states that need to be addressed. The goal of this paper is to identify the best strategies for dealing with foreign fighters and their relatives. In order to achieve this, the paper examines how individual countries around the world have dealt with the repatriation of foreign fighters and their families and how they have followed up with their reintegration into society. The study found that few countries choose to let ex-combatants return and not persecute them. However, those countries that do decide to assist or at least let allow them to come back pay little attention to the psychological assistance and social reintegration of these people.