Authors

Huseyn Aliyev¹;  ¹ University of Glasgow, UK

Discussion

Existing research has suggested that mobilisation of foreign fighters is mostly influenced by religious and political motives. However, most of the existing studies have relied on secondary sources, and have not investigated the views, motivations or experiences of the actual active foreign fighters. This has resulted in case-specific findings that focus primarily on ideology and “grievances” as causes of mobilisation. By contrast, this explorative study investigates sociocultural incentives, individual perceptions, and material opportunities of foreign fighters to mobilize in armed conflicts despite and beyond religious-sectarian and political ideology-centred grievances. Tentative theoretical component of this study suggests that different mobilization motives of foreign fighter participation are not mutually exclusive, and that several explanations must be considered in conjunction with each other when studying reasons behind violent mobilization. Empirically, this study draws on unique face-to-face interview data, collected through high-risk ethnographic fieldwork with active foreign fighters from over 15 different countries, currently participating in the war in Ukraine.