Knowledge Bank

Returning foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) present a dilemma for the European Union (EU) and member state governments. Current policy ranges from repatriation, prosecution, discouragement, or even refusal of re-entry of these returnees. Attack-focused language used in such policies indicates that physical threat is the foremost concern of the EU. However, in light of empirical data on violent attacks committed by returnees, there is a mismatch between actual threat and the supranational organization's and member states' response. I suggest that other factors, other than simply physical security, are driving the policy-making process. I argue that the responses of Western European states and the EU as a whole are driven by a sense of infringement upon the identity and agency of the organization—in other words, the return of foreign fighters represents an attack on the ontological security experienced by the state.

In this paper, I first provide an overview of the foreign fighter phenomenon, describing why many of those returning from Syria and Iraq are regarded as foreign terrorist fighters, thus eliciting a stronger response from home governments. I then outline the EU's reaction, highlighting the relationship between EU- and member state-level responses. Third, I provide data demonstrating the incongruity between policy language and tangible threat. Finally, I hypothesize that the EU has labeled the return of FTFs an existential security threat that may generate ontological insecurity, or a sense of damaged identity, in the EU, and that this designation has justified policy responses to this group. The recognition of ontological insecurity as one result of the return of FTFs is a crucial factor in a comprehensive perception of EU security responses, and this paper provides a first attempt at such an understanding.