Guilt By Association? The Variation in Worldwide Repatriation Efforts of Islamic State Children

Why do some states repatriate children of Islamic State (IS) foreign fighters while others ignore their human rights? The collapse of IS left thousands of children of foreign fighters stateless, trying to be repatriated to the home country of their foreign parents. While some states welcomed children back, others were quite hesitant. I argue that two mechanisms influence a state’s willingness to repatriate: the level of that state’s direct military involvement in the international coalition that fought IS and its regime type. The higher a state’s degree of commitment of troops, arms, or finances to the international coalition against IS, the less likely that state is to welcome home children of IS members. Additionally, I argue that lower levels of electoral competition within the state insulates leaders from any domestic audience costs associated with bringing IS-affiliated children to their country. These states will thus repatriate earlier than states with open elections. I explore the importance of these two mechanisms with a mixed-methods research design. Together, the mixed method approach helps illuminate the variation in children’s human rights in the post-IS conflict landscape.