Introduction: 

Our interconnected global system has facilitated the rise of new, transnational threats to the security of the state and the individual. One such threat is the establishment of international terrorist networks and their desire to cause displacement on a massive scale. As of March 2023, the United Nations estimates 110 million people worldwide have been displaced as a result of ‘conflict, violence, and violations to human rights,’ many of which were under direct threat from terrorist organizations. These networks have abused mass displacement as a weapon of war, a tactic that necessitates scholarly attention. 

When referring to terrorist networks, it is important to acknowledge the limitations in our definition. Due to its subjectivity, there is no universally accepted international legal definition of terrorism. Consequently, legitimate prosection and responses to terrorist networks are paralyzed, greatly limiting policymakers' ability to address these security threats adequately. While these limitations are acknowledged, a guiding definition is required to study the issues related to terrorism meaningfully. This article adopts scholar Virginia Page Fotrna’s definition of terrorist groups as “those who employ a systematic campaign of indiscriminate violence against public civilian targets to influence a wider audience.” 

The following piece will unpack how the violent tactics employed by terrorist groups, coupled with the harsh economic realities they perpetuate, have a profound impact on human security. These consequences create the conditions necessary for internal displacement and cross-border refugee crises. Consequently, the weaponization of refugees becomes deliberate, a tactical play by terrorist organizations to further their influence, using refugees as pawns in a larger geopolitical game.

First, the piece dissects how terrorist organizations use particular methods to drive mass displacement. Secondly, the analysis considers how this terrorist-driven displacement has been abused as a strategic tool to undermine governments and establish greater influence. Thirdly, an examination of how the deliberate displacement of civilians has enhanced recruitment efforts will be conducted. Finally, the piece concludes by exploring the insufficient response by the international community to this security threat, and provides alternative policy recommendations. 

How Terrorist Groups Create Displacement 

Grasping the tactics employed by terrorist organizations to perpetuate mass displacement is integral. Terrorist groups employ two central strategies. Firstly, deliberate violent attacks that act as a direct displacement tool. This includes destructive methods such as bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, and radiological weapons. The physical and psychological fear these tactics create urges displacement on a large scale. It is estimated that 20.5 million people are displaced internally each year, citing this type of violent conflict as the reason for displacement. Women and children are particularly vulnerable, making up a large proportion of these displaced populations. 

Alternatively, the deplorable economic conditions perpetuated by terrorist organizations force large-scale displacement. Although this tactic is more indirect, it is equally effective in forcing entire communities to flee. For instance, the return of the Afghan Taliban– a network that many states have labeled as a terrorist group–  in 2021 has led to a deterioration of the economic well-being of Afghan civilians. These dire conditions are perpetuated by the lack of oversight on integral education, healthcare, and financial infrastructures that are rapidly crumbling. 

The collapse of these structures, coupled with the violent nature of the Taliban, has forced the displacement of three-quarters of the country’s 5.7 million internally displaced people. Following the 2021 takeover, over a million people have left Afghanistan, with roughly 4,000-5,000 fleeing to the Islamic Republic of Iran every day. 56% of those intending to move have cited the lack of job opportunities as their primary motivation to do so. It is important to note the significance of Western sanctions and the overly militarized response of the United States in Afghanistan leading up to 2021 in perpetuating these dire conditions, and triggering mass displacement. 

How Displacement is Weaponized to Undermine Governments and Establish Influence 

The weaponization of refugees to undermine governments and assert influence has become central to terrorist organization’s agenda. Nigeria’s most prominent terrorist group, Boko Haram, operating since 2002, provides a clear illustration of these exploitations on African soil. Nigeria’s President, Bolo Ahmed Tinubu, has faced immense pressure to respond adequately to what the Institute of Security Studies has described as the “hardest security test for Tinubu.” However, the President’s inability to achieve his promise of defeating Boko Haram has undermined his credibility. The network is still highly active in the Borno state whilst also controlling 27 local governments across North East Nigeria.  

Employing violent tactics such as mass abductions and arson across Nigeria, Boko Haram is responsible for displacing 2.5 million people since it began escalating tensions back in 2009. These staggering and unprecedented levels of displacement have placed immense pressure on Nigeria’s public services. For instance, those displaced demand immediate humanitarian assistance, placing further strain on an already collapsing health system. As a result, 26% of healthcare services have been forcefully shut down, making displaced civilians ever more reliant on humanitarian aid and assistance from foreign countries. 

The consequence of this has been dramatic. Nigerians vulnerable to displacement have started to question the efficacy and legitimacy of their own government in responding to their needs. They turn to external support (i.e., Nigeria’s partners such as the United States or international institutions such as the United Nations), creating a vicious cycle in which reliance on foreign countries becomes the norm, and local governments lose any form of legitimate agency. Thus, the absence of national control allows a power vacuum to form, one that terrorist groups exploit to gain control and influence in displaced areas. Over-dependence on foreign support becomes equally alarming, given the limitations of institutions and foreign states in providing consistent and adequate humanitarian assistance. 

Exploitation of Displaced Peoples as a Recruitment Tool 

The deliberate displacement caused by terrorist organizations has allowed the emergence of ‘recruitment hot zones,’ particularly in refugee camps or informal settlements. These hot zones often accumulate vulnerable populations– most commonly young people– who are prone to radicalization efforts and view terrorist groups as their only chance for survival. In 2015 alone, the United Nations confirmed 274 cases of child recruitment by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), 1,000 of which were abducted from the Mosul district, a region highly concentrated in refugee camps as a result of reoccurring displacement patterns. It is important to note that these figures are likely to be underestimated due to the difficulties of data collection and monitoring violations against children in these areas. These recruitments, escalating as a result of displacement, have been vital to the success and tactical advancement of terrorist groups. Those recruited are used as spies, transporters of military supplies, planters of explosive devices, and so on. 

The recruitment tactics of the terrorist group Al-Shabab, which United States President Joe Biden has described as the deadliest and wealthiest of Al Qaeda’s global branches, deserve attention. Founded in 2006, the terrorist group has found paramount success in recruiting members from the Dadaab refugee complex in eastern Kenya, currently housing upwards of 240,000 refugees and asylum seekers. Recruiters lure desperate refugees with ideals of Muslim unity and offers of $500-$700 a week, contingent on their joining Al-Shabaab. These promises represent lifelines to refugees who struggle with the humanitarian crisis in the Dadaab camp, many of whom have never left the refugee complex. 

The success of Al-Shabaab’s recruitment efforts in refugee camps underscores the deliberate and strategic nature of the weaponization of refugees by terrorist groups. Displaced populations are highly vulnerable to terrorist recruitment, given the trauma they have endured and their systematic exclusion from formal social systems and protection from local governments. Their success in advancing the influence and control of terrorist networks, as highlighted above, has made the tactical displacement of civilians an attractive strategy, facilitating the elevation of terrorist groups as actors in international security. 

The Response of the International Community and Conclusions 

As a result of egregious human rights violations by terrorist groups, the international community has responded via the increasing securitization of terrorism and migration. This is a process in which states actively transform regular political issues into a matter of security. As a result, these issues become a state priority, enabling more drastic responses to these security threats. The most prominent responses have emerged from the European Union and the United States, following the surge of immigration into the two regions occurring primarily in 2011. These influxes were not adequately handled by respective governments, placing immense stress on the socio-economic structures of the host countries. These pressures invited increased risk of internal attacks, as seen in Norway in 2011, as well as the implementation of stricter migration controls, i.e., former President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13769, ‘Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.’ These responses have become common amongst the international community, inviting critiques from policymakers and scholars alike.

One such critique emerges from this paper, too: the securitization of terrorism by the international community has been effective in prioritizing counter-terrorism policy but greatly damaging to protecting those displaced by terrorist groups. Securitizing an issue can divert policy away from a development/humanitarian approach, which is quintessential to reconstructing affected regions and preventing the rise of transnational terrorist networks. These policy limitations are exemplified by the United Kingdom’s former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s foreign policy shift in Africa following the 9/11 attacks. The continent had been repeatedly labeled as a security rather than a humanitarian concern within political discourse. This approach played an integral role in shaping public perceptions of displaced populations, deepening tensions between refugees and local populations and making it incredibly difficult for displaced peoples to properly integrate into their host countries.  

Thus, this piece puts forward alternative policy approaches to addressing displacement caused by terrorism. Priority must be given to crisis prevention. This includes emphasizing policies centered on development, economic growth, and access to education opportunities. These measures can help prevent the rise of terrorism and protect those vulnerable to its influence. Highly militarized, state-centric, and protectionist policies are inadequate and catastrophic. 

To conclude, this piece argues that terrorist organizations have weaponized a plethora of strategic tactics to drive mass migration. These tactics are often violent and tragic, causing displacement on a large scale. These displacement tactics are intentional: central to undermining local governments and strengthening recruitment efforts. Consequently, these impacts have elevated the potency of these terrorist networks on the global stage, demanding more solid responses from the international community. This research urges policymakers to adopt a human-centered crisis prevention approach, a response that proves necessary to dismantle the potency of terrorist groups and protect those weaponized by them. Finally, this piece calls for future research to pay closer attention to the intersection between terrorism and displacement. Although there has been rich discussion in the two separate fields, existing scholarship has ignored the intersection of the phenomena. 

By: Matilde Roquette in collaboration with the LSESU Think Tank Society International Desk.