Those Who Choose to Fight the Islamic State: Autobiographical Accounts of Western Volunteers

Abstract

This article is a qualitative study of anti-IS fighters who have traveled from the West to join the military struggle in Syria and Iraq. while earlier studies have mainly analyzed open sources (i.e. social media or journalist’s reports), this article is based on an in-depth analysis of eight autobiographies written by individuals who traveled from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany and the U.S. to take part in the fight against IS. What motives do they give for doing so, how are they treated by the police and journalists after they return from the wars in Syria and Iraq, and do they express other motives than those given by Westerners who have joined IS?.