Mobilisation of foreign fighters in the former Soviet Union

Foreign fighters are individuals who choose to participate in armed conflicts occurring outside their countries of residence. The rise of radical Islamist organisations, such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), has led to thousands of volunteers travelling to the Middle East from Europe and Asia to join various armed groups, significantly contributing to the strength and resilience of these radical extremist organisations. While some foreign fighters, such as British jihadist Jihadi John became notorious on social media, many more remained in the shadows supplying armed groups with human and material resources, as well as the expertise crucial for the success of such brutal militant organisations as ISIL. Over the last decade, the post-Soviet region has served as a key supplier of foreign fighters for armed conflicts in the Middle East and across the former Soviet Union. The former Soviet Union, which includes Russian Federation, the Caucasus and Central Asian regions, supplied more foreign fighters to the Middle East than any other region of the world, including the Middle East itself.

Although there has been little research done on foreign fighters in the context of the former Soviet Union, existing scholarly works echo mass media statements and the reports by international organisations in that post-Soviet foreign fighters are viewed as primarily driven by religious and political motivations. Most of these claims are based on the analysis of secondary sources and random interviews with conflict witnesses. No comprehensive fieldwork-based projects were ever conducted to understand what effect do sociocultural traditions, perceived repressions and opportunities have on foreign fighter mobilisation in the former Soviet Union.

Years of preliminary exploratory research and a number of smaller pilot projects have led the research team to believe that post-Soviet foreign fighters mobilise not necessarily due to religious fervour or political ideology, but due to a complex combination of sociocultural and perception-centred causes. Opportunities to mobilise, or the lack thereof, also emerge as significant causes behind individual mobilisation. During our preliminary research, notions of honour, solidarity, obligation and culturally embedded customary laws, combined with ethnic and religious persecution in home countries, emerge as instrumental in individuals' choices to participate in armed conflicts abroad.

In order to provide a definitive answer as to which factors can account for the high rates of foreign fighter mobilisation in the post-Soviet region, we propose developing a theory which will seek to demonstrate that individuals choose to become foreign fighters not necessarily due to their religion or political views, but also owing to sociocultural traditions, their perceptions of persecution and opportunities available to disengage from armed groups. To test that theory we will conduct original interview-based fieldwork amongst active, former, and aspiring foreign fighters in Ukraine, Russia's republic of Dagestan and amongst Chechen Diaspora in Western Europe (Austria, Denmark and Germany). To better understand the process of foreign fighter mobilisation and reasons behind it, we will sample widely individuals who chose to become foreign fighters in order to record their opinions and experiences.

This original and interdisciplinary research project will be the first ever fieldwork-based effort to study foreign fighters in the former Soviet Union. Innovative research methods combining interdisciplinary approaches will be used to carry out interviews with informants. Bearing in mind that project data can inform and improve the current understanding of radicalisation causes, the project findings will have major implications for de-radicalisation, conflict de-escalation and national security across Europe, Middle East and Asia.