Analyses of Government Responses to Stem the Flow of Foreign Fighters

Abstract: The dramatic increase in the number of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war has caused great concern when individuals join extremist terrorist organisations, such as ISIS. These foreign fighters can later return to their country of residence to commit a terrorist attack, or recruit other individuals to join ISIS. Some governments, particularly within Europe, have amended their laws to criminalise foreign fighters and recruiting for terrorist groups. However, if these new laws themselves become a way of framing the West as opposed to Islam is yet to be systematically analysed. This thesis argues that through framing theory, by creating frames that show the legislation as a problem that needs to be solved by ISIS, frame alignment will take place so individuals will shift their views and beliefs to agree with the problem stated by ISIS. Through a comparative case study of four European Union countries, firstly by examining the conditions of the legislation and secondly by studying statements by ISIS, this thesis finds no support for the theory in those four cases, as the predicted outcome did not happen in each case.