Publications

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The German government refuses to systematically repatriate German followers of IS who are incarcerated in northern Syria. It would not only be imperative for humanitarian reasons but would also be in Germany’s security polity interests. It is important to hold returnees accountable for their actions before German courts and integrate them into exit programmes that assist and support them in leaving extremist circles. In recent years, affected federal states have created the necessary structures for dealing with returnees. In view of acute needs, these must be strengthened. However, ideology-driven departures by German citizens to war zones are neither a temporary phenomenon nor limited to only one extremist tendency. Therefore, this current problem gives Germany the opportunity to develop a sustainable foreign- and domestic policy for dealing with persons who return or want to return to Germany after having left the country for ideological reasons to travel to war zones.