Facing the fourth foreign fighters wave. What drives Europeans to Syria, and to Islamic State ? Insights from the Belgian case

  • Author: Rik Coolsaet
  • Published by Egmont-Royal Institute of International Relations (2016)

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Thousands of young Europeans have gone to fight in the Levant, the fourth wave of jihadi foreign fighters since the 1980s. Their decision is rooted in a ‘no future’ subculture and boosted by the conviction that by traveling to Syria they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.