European Deradicalization Programs for Foreign Terrorist Fighters: What Happens After They Return Home?

Governments across Europe face challenges in creating and implementing specific tailored approaches for reintegrating convicted foreign terrorist fighters. Their approaches vary depending on the context and target population, and are influenced by various factors. This paper identifies factors for successful reintegration, such as individualization of treatment, mentoring and post-prison support, including community involvement, and examines the different types of interventions implemented by countries and their outcomes, through a review of the existing literature, a comparative analysis of programs in Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany and France, including interviews with experts. According to the findings, multi-institutional approaches have proven to be effective, but certain challenges have been noted in terms of the length of sentences (short sentences), and certain shortcomings in program evaluations, difficulties for countries in measuring recidivism rates and long-term monitoring have been noted. On the other hand, best practices emphasize voluntary participation, continuous strengthening of staff capacities and involvement of the entire community in the processes, in order to enable sustainable reintegration.