Governments have been increasingly focused on the rise of foreign fighters departing to fight in Syria
and, to a lesser extent, other regional countries, since the beginning of the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings of 2011. The level of foreign fighters travelling to Syria to date has been unprecedented in comparison to previous conflicts. Foreign fighters can pose a potential threat to states in numerous ways: At the
minimum level, it is likely that, on their return, they will have experienced psychological trauma
associated with war and will require health care assistance, rehabilitation and reintegration type
interventions. While abroad, foreign fighters also pose a threat by attempting to recruit others to join the fight. They can also acquire more advanced terrorist and fighting skillsets and significantly expand their transnational extremist networks. Finally, and at the most extreme level, it is probable that some will have joined Islamic extremist factions whilst fighting abroad and may seek to attack their home countries on return to export the al Qaeda ideology of global jihad against the West. Evidence-based research shows that they are more likely to succeed, they are more determined and likely to use more deadly force if they have been abroad for terrorist training or in conflict zones.

The issues outlined above have been the primary focus of the European Commission’s Radicalisation
Awareness Network (RAN)’s Working Group (WG) on Internal and External factors (INT/EXT). The
INT/EXT WG has explored these in several ways. Firstly, it brings together the relevant European
Union Member States’ experts to establish a baseline estimate of levels of foreign fighters and various
challenges and experiences that Member States have faced. Secondly, the WG has examined the
diverse initiatives which are taking place across member states to tackle this challenge, particularly
from the point of view of practitioners. These good practices are based, inter alia, on three workshops
which took place in Berlin in October 2012, Amsterdam in April 2013 and Antwerp in September
2013 organised by the RAN INT/EXT WG (the latter was organised in collaboration with the RAN
Prevent WG). This list of RAN good practices is a living document and is not intended to be
exhaustive. It will be modified and/or expanded based on the upcoming ‘Cities Conference’, which will
gather the relevant actors from, practitioner to government level, who will provide feedback on this
document for future use and beyond.