The Involvement of Western Balkan Terrorist-Fighters in Armed Conflicts in Syria and Iraq

• Autorzy: Filip Bryjka

Warianty tytułu

Udział zagranicznych bojowników-terrorystów z Bałkanów Zachodnich w konfliktach zbrojnych w Syrii i Iraku

• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

The primary purpose of this article is to explain the meaning and consequences of foreign fighters' participation from Western Balkan countries (WB6) in armed conflicts in Syria and Iraq. In the first part, the issue of foreign fighters is discussed in historical terms. The author focuses on the examples of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the ethno-religious conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the second part of the text, the definition framework of foreign fighters' concept and its evolution towards foreign terrorist-fighters is discussed. Then, a detailed analysis of the main problem is conducted, and several research questions are answered: 1) What is the scale of the phenomenon of Balkan volunteers (e.g., their number, the structure of origin, and others) in comparison to fighters from other regions? 2) What are their motivations and goals, and what are their recruitment process and ways of moving into the war zone? 3) What is the threat posed by returning fighters to the security of the Western Balkans, and how do individual states counteract this phenomenon? The author uses mainly the following research methods: critical content analysis (literature, scientific articles, documents, reports, press materials), and historical and comparative analysis. The author's visits to this country in 2018-2020 constituted an essential contribution to the part concerning the case of Kosovo.(original abstract)

Głównym celem niniejszego artykułu jest wyjaśnienie znaczenia i konsekwencji udziału zagranicznych bojowników z państw Bałkanów Zachodnich (WB6) w konfliktach zbrojnych w Syrii i Iraku. W pierwszej części zagadnienie zagranicznych bojowników zostało przedstawione w ujęciu historycznym. Autor skupił się na przykładach radzieckiej inwazji na Afganistan oraz konfliktu etniczno-religijnego w Bośni i Hercegowinie. W drugiej części tekstu omówione zostały ramy definicyjne pojęcia zagranicznych bojowników oraz jego ewolucja w kierunku zagranicznych bojowników-terrorystów. Następnie przeprowadzona została szczegółowa analiza głównego problemu oraz odniesiono się do kilku pytań badawczych: 1) jaka jest skala zjawiska bałkańskich ochotników (np. ich liczba, struktura pochodzenia i inne) w porównaniu z bojownikami z innych regionów? 2) Jakie są ich motywacje i cele, jak wygląda ich rekrutacja i sposoby przemieszczania się w rejon działań wojennych? 3) Jakie są zagrożenia dla bezpieczeństwa Bałkanów Zachodnich ze strony powracających bojowników i jak poszczególne państwa przeciwdziałają temu zjawisku? Autor zastosował następujące metody badawcze: krytyczna analiza treści (literatura przedmiotu, artykuły naukowe, dokumenty, raporty, materiały prasowe) oraz analiza historyczna i porównawcza. Istotny wkład w część dotyczącą przypadku Kosowa stanowią wizyty autora w tym kraju w latach 2018-2020.(abstrakt oryginalny)

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Armed conflicts; State; Terrorism; Religious conflicts

PL

Konflikty zbrojne; Państwo; Terroryzm; Konflikty religijne

• Czasopismo: Rocznik Instytutu Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej
• Rocznik: 2021
• Numer: Vol. 19, z. 4 The 30. Anniversary of the Breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Post-Cold War Dissolution Processes and its Consequences in the Balkans. Where Are We Now?
• Strony: 151--173

Twórcy

autor

Filip Bryjka

• Military University of Land Forces, Wrocław, Poland

Bibliografia

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Identyfikatory

DOI

doi.org/10.36874/RIESW.2021.4.8