Foreign Fighters After the Conflict Ends

Abstract

Once a conflict is over, most foreign fighters return home. Most of them demobilize and resume regular lives, never to be heard from again. However, some foreign fighters never disengage. They continue participating in militancy in many different ways: Some engage in subversive activities in host communities; others relocate to new conflict zones; while yet others return home to strike against home targets. This chapter reviews the previous experiences with foreign fighter veterans. It analyzes the post-conflict trends from the past conflicts that involved Islamist foreign fighters. It examines the types of threats that have been associated with foreign fighter veterans in the past.