Counter- and de-radicalisation with returning foreign fighters (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report 1140)
This report examines programmes that de-radicalise and rehabilitate extremists in prisons, including some which target foreign fighters
Abstract
Query
Identify examples of counter or de-radicalisation work with returning foreign fighters in conflict-affected and nearby states. Include examples where returnees are involved in counter or de- radicalisation programmes. Present the lessons learned emerging from these projects and evaluations of them.
Overview
The documentation on counter- and de-radicalisation programmes for returning foreign fighters in conflict-affected and nearby states is limited. There is evidence of programmes that aim to de-radicalise, disengage and rehabilitate detained extremists in prisons, which in some cases target foreign fighters. A number of these programmes in the Middle East and Southeast Asia are well documented, and information is included in this report on those for which evidence of foreign fighter involvement exists. The literature contained no instances of female foreign fighters included in programmes.
These programmes are based on approaches to criminal rehabilitation, and involve a mix of vocational training and counselling, with a religious component designed to challenge extremist narratives and ideologies. Rigorous external and comparative evaluations of these programmes do not exist.
Citation
Shivit Bakrania. Counter- and de-radicalisation with returning foreign fighters (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report 1140). Governance and Social Development Resource Centre, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK (2014) 10 pp.
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