Nu är artikeln ute. Den heter The Swedish Foreign Fighter Contingent in Syria (pdf) och är 17.000 tecken lång plus fotnoter (det är i noterna godiset finns), och erbjuder blygsamt med läsglädje på grund av min ovana att skriva på engelska och akademiska.
Faktainnehållet är dock gott – gissningsvis är artikeln den största sammanställningen hittills i frågan om svenska jihadresenärer.
Inledningen:
"In April 2013, the Swedish Security Service estimated that “around 30” individuals from Sweden have traveled to Syria to join “groups inspired by al-Qa`ida.”[1] This author has identified 18 fighters from Sweden who have joined the war in Syria—including their real names and social security numbers—and has researched their backgrounds and relationships.[2] Using public records, this article explores the socioeconomic backgrounds, regional distribution, criminal records and ethnicities of the 18 fighters. It also includes more anecdotal data from information collected through social media to show group affiliations, casualties and previous connections to terrorism and the global jihadist movement.
The article finds that although the typical fighter from Sweden in the Syrian war is a young man with an immigrant background, most of the fighters are not of Syrian descent. The majority of the fighters come from relative poverty, while many have criminal records. Half of the fighters have previous links to terrorism or activities in the global jihadist movement."