Jihadi foreign fighters and the threat to Czechia
Jihadi foreign fighters and the threat to Czechia

Author(s): Asya Metodieva, Emil Aslan
Subject(s): Government/Political systems, Security and defense, Studies in violence and power, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: Ústav mezinárodních vztahů
Keywords: Jihad; Czechia; security threat; security challenges; terrorism; external threat; violence;
Summary/Abstract: The threat of jihadi terrorism in Europe remains a security concern at the end of 2020. Following the 2020 Vienna attack, governments across Central Europe responded with both political statements and security checks. Although Czechia has never been a primary target of a major jihadi attack, there is a need to understand the nature of the threat that is about cross-border radicalization and challenges related to European citizens who returned to the region after joining jihadi groups in Syria and Iraq. This policy paper assesses the external and internal threat of jihadi terrorism to Czechia. The analysis makes two recommendations to policy makers: first, invest in capacity building to track online activities related to preparation of terrorist violence, including propaganda dissemination, recruitment into radical groups, coordinated actions intended to cause casualties; second, enhance intelligence sharing with countries in the region concerning individuals who have returned from Syria and Iraq, were released after terrorism-related offences; were prevented from becoming foreign fighters but belonged to radical networks; have gone through rehabilitation programmes.

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