This chapter explores the role of trauma in violent extremism research, offering insights on its effects on the research process, providing insights on the radicalization process of individual cases, and informing reintegration prospects of returning foreign fighters and their family members. The chapter focuses on war-related trauma as a widespread experience in post-conflict societies, which may persist years after the war ends, scarring societies in numerous ways for generations and potentially creating an ongoing cycle of violence. The chapter begins with a brief overview of the available literature on the link between trauma and radicalization while bringing attention to existing gaps within this field. It then continues with insights from field research in Kosovo on how trauma was expressed among the family members of foreign fighters, including women returnees from the conflict zones in Syria and Iraq, and provides insight into how the author approached the subject in her own research.

 

Suggested Citation: Teuta Avdimetaj, Interacting with Trauma: Considerations and Reflections from Research in Kosovo, Washington, DC: RESOLVE Network, 2022.