FOREIGN TERRORIST FIGHTERS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH RADICALIZATION, VIOLENT EXTREMISM AND TERRORISM

Abstract

Foreign terrorist fighters pose an asymmetric security threat and their return to the Republic of North Macedonia is a problem which the security services and the society as a whole face. In the last decade, a large number of foreign terrorist fighters have returned to their homes from the battlefields in Syria and Iraq, and the country has intervened with law amendments to the Criminal Code of 2014 to allow foreign terrorist fighters to be prosecuted and sentenced to appropriate punishments. Foreign terrorist fighters are closely related to violent extremism and radicalization, which in some cases can lead to terrorism. A radicalized foreign fighter who has returned home can spread the idea of radicalization and be an instigator for committing criminal activity - terrorism. The processes of deradicalization and resocialization are crucial for dealing with this phenomenon, considering that young people are susceptible to the influence of violent extremism and are a fertile soil for initial radicalization. The experiences of the neighboring countries have been developed in terms of how they deal with and how they prevent these negative phenomena in the community, related to foreign terrorist fighters. Foreign terrorist fighters can also carry out terrorist attacks through their involvement in violent extremism and radicalization. This is confirmed by several terrorist attacks that have taken place in the recent years in Europe, carried out by foreign terrorist fighters who are more radicalized and with significant combat experience. Keywords: foreign terrorist fighters, violent extremism, radicalization, terrorism, security threat