Commentaries
What justice for Belgian jihadi fighters?
There are still more than one hundred Belgian fighters in Syria and Iraq, some of which are currently detained in the region. The fall of the Caliphate and the US […]
Middle-East / North Africa
Publications
External publications
Syrië vraagt om een meer strategisch Europa
Het Midden-Oosten gaat opnieuw in zijn lange geschiedenis door een periode van oorlog en omwenteling, met inbegrip van massamoord van burgers, het falen van staten, transnationaal terrorisme en sektarische oorlogvoering, […]
Children in the Levant: Insights from Belgium on the dilemmas of repatriation and the challenges of reintegration
According to intelligence estimates, there are around 1,400 European children in Syria and Iraq, many of them born there. The fate of these children confronts European governments with moral, legal, […]
How to handle returning foreign fighters: policies and challenges
Returning foreign terrorist fighters constitute a threat to Europe, which should neither be underestimated nor overstated. European member states have developed a number of measures and instruments to deal with […]
The quest for a regional order in the Middle East
The Middle East is once again going through a period of war and upheaval, including mass murder of civilians, state failure, transnational terrorism, sectarian wars, physical and societal destruction, massive […]
Returnees: who are they, why are they (not) coming back and how should we deal with them? Assessing policies on returning foreign terrorist fighters in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands
Some 5000 men, women and children have travelled from Europe to Syria and Iraq since 2012. An estimated 1500 of these foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) have returned so far. Belgium, […]