What is the best approach to dealing with the dozens or hundreds of citizens returning home after having travelled to Iraq and Syria, primarily to join terrorist entities such as ISIS, the Nusra Front and affiliates of Al-Qaida? Since the start of the civil conflict in Syria in 2011, this question has become a daunting one for many policy-makers and practitioners alike, across more than 100 UN Member States affected by the flows of the so-called ‘foreign fighters’ (henceforth FF-s), including Albania. According to David Mallet, FF-s can be defined as “non-citizens of conflict states who join insurgencies during civil conflicts”. Given the possibility that some of those who return from the conflict might engage in violent extremism or act as catalyst for terrorism in their home countries in the long run, affected states have primarily adopted restrictive and repressive approaches to both aspiring and returning FF-s. For instance, nationals of the Western Balkan countries found guilty of the aforementioned crimes may be imprisoned in their home countries for up to 15 years. However,
repressive measures have their limits and do not suffice in countering alone a complex issue with roots in the various socio-economic, cultural and political contexts of each country. Moreover, ‘quick’ or excessive punitive-driven measures fail to address the outcomes of a long process of persistent manipulation, and may even result counterproductive given their potential to reinforce a sense of victimisation, injustice and alienation felt by segments of the community, and exploited in turn by FF recruiters. Besides, the commitment of democratic states to ensure the respect of fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of expression and association, religious and cultural diversity, as well as the right to a fair trial as enshrined in international and national legal instruments is under test in cases of allegations of preparation, attempt or commission of the offence of foreign fighting, given the difficulties in collecting evidence from the conflict zones, which make prosecution of returning FF-s a challenging task. Accordingly, this paper argues that a combination of repressive measures with disengagement and reintegration programs is the most promising approach to dealing with both aspiring and returning FF-s, in an adequate and efficient manner. Good practices from Western European countries support such claim and may serve as good examples for other countries affected by the Foreign Fighters’ phenomenon. Despite the wide geographic scope of the phenomenon, its dynamics, and the various approaches and practices adopted at a regional and international level, this policy paper focuses specifically on Albania.