Return of the Jihadi: Analysing the Securitisation of Foreign Fighters

As the need to repatriate Islamic State foreign fighters (FFs) becomes increasingly pressing following the collapse of the organisation in 2019, European states largely remain reluctant despite recommendations from academics, NGOs, and international bodies. None more so than the UK, which has enforced entry bans and citizenship deprivations for their FFs, a concerning development from one of the top three European countries that produced FFs (van Ginkel & Entenmann, 2016). Through the lens of securitisation theory, this study aims to shed light on how FFs have been securitised by analysing British parliamentary discourse on Shamima Begum, whose citizenship deprivation case remains a major topic in public debate due to her consequent statelessness. Two competing frames emerge: 1) the securitising ‘National Security’ frame; and 2) the counter-securitising ‘British Democracy’ frame. Although actors compete over what the real threat to Britain is, Begum or the government’s policy...Show moreAs the need to repatriate Islamic State foreign fighters (FFs) becomes increasingly pressing following the collapse of the organisation in 2019, European states largely remain reluctant despite recommendations from academics, NGOs, and international bodies. None more so than the UK, which has enforced entry bans and citizenship deprivations for their FFs, a concerning development from one of the top three European countries that produced FFs (van Ginkel & Entenmann, 2016). Through the lens of securitisation theory, this study aims to shed light on how FFs have been securitised by analysing British parliamentary discourse on Shamima Begum, whose citizenship deprivation case remains a major topic in public debate due to her consequent statelessness. Two competing frames emerge: 1) the securitising ‘National Security’ frame; and 2) the counter-securitising ‘British Democracy’ frame. Although actors compete over what the real threat to Britain is, Begum or the government’s policy approach, I argue that they both ultimately invoke the same Orientalist identities of the savage Muslim ‘Other’ against civilised British society, building on narratives of the ‘enemy within’ that historically subjected the Muslim community to increased scrutiny and stigmatisation.Show less

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Return of the Jihadi: Analysing the Securitisation of Foreign Fighters