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SECTION I: EXTREMISM, RADICALIZATION AND CYBER THREATS AS AN IMPORTANT
SECURITY FACTORS FOR COUNTERING TERRORISM PROCESSES

Most citizens of Kosovo do not support the participation of their citizens in the conflict in
Syria. They expect that the Government of Kosovo and the law enforcement agencies will
do everything possible to provide them with security and at the same time respect their civil
freedoms and human rights (Azinović, V. Jusić, M., 2016, p 144).

When talking about deradicalization, the Government of Kosovo thinks that it is a failure if it
even reaches this step, as it means that they did not succeed in their intention of identification
and prevention. They talk about helping individuals to turn away from extreme ideology and
violence, and consider that risk assessment of returning foreign fighters is very important and
must include a number of aspects, such as physiological help and support.

Kosovo needs a serious approach to dealing with returning foreign fighters. Apart from prison
sentences, it is necessary to work on deradicalization and re-integration into society. It is cru-
cial for Kosovo to become a state where all people can have a normal life.

4 Discussion and Conclusion

Foreign fighters, historically speaking, are not a new aspect to military action. However, in
this conflict, because of the sheer numbers of them, they have brought a lot of insecurity and
open questions for the states from which they came. When they first began to join the conflicts
in Syria and Iraq, their states did not see this situation as alarming, even though it was ana-
lyzed and discussed a great deal, especially in the mainstream media, who saw this “foreign
fighters” situation as very interesting from the beginning of the strengthening Islamic State.
But this situation of not caring changed when the first foreign fighters began to return, now
with war experience, military knowledge, and having taken part in violent action. All of this
made governments react to this situation and begin to see it as alarming.

The countries included in the research part of this paper seem not to have any form of clear
and consistent policy towards foreign fighters. They are countries with a large number of citi-
zens who left their homes to join the Islamic State, so are particularly interesting for research.

The countries of Europe are doing their best to successfully deal with returning foreign fight-
ers. Some are using soft approaches and some are using hard approaches, while others are
mixing the two, but not one of these countries knows whether their decision will be successful
in dealing with the problem.

Research has shown that it would be irresponsible to let people who come back from the
Islamic State manage alone and without any support. This would not lead to the successful
integration of foreign fighters, but only to a situation that creates problems in the future. For
a successful process of deradicalization it is necessary to begin during the period of imprison-
ment of the foreign fighter, and to continue long enough for the community to be safe after
they have left prison. The deradicalization and re-integration of foreign fighters is vital not
only for the fighters and their families, but also for the other citizens and national security.

In general, it is important to increase communication between European countries; not only
those in the EU, but also the non-EU Western Balkan countries that have had great issues
with foreign fighters. Countries need to determine what punishment those who are involved

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