Event Date: October 18, 2023 - 9:00am to October 19, 2023 - 3:30pm
Location: FSS 4007, 120 University Private, University of Ottawa

Presented by CIPS

The event will gather international experts studying foreign fighters in the former Soviet Union to analyze the causes explaining why the region became the biggest contributors of foreign combatants in Syria surpassing the Middle East. It will also investigate the importance of the war in Ukraine as a traveling destination for Western far-right extremists as well as fighters from all over the former Soviet Union and its long-term effect of regional security.  

This two-day workshop will provide a better understanding of 1) the threat link to foreign fighters in the former Soviet Union; 2) the reasons behind their violent mobilization, and 3) determine what specific policies that can be put forward to address post conflict challenges including the question of returnees.

**The conference is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) of the United Kingdom, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS)**

Please note that this a hybrid workshop – participation can be in person or online.

The event will be in English.

Programme

October 18, 2023

8:30am-9:00am – Registration and Breakfast

9:00am-9:15am – Foreign Fighters in the Former Soviet Union: An Introduction

• Jean-François Ratelle, University of Ottawa
• Huseyn Aliyev, University of Glasgow (Online)

9:15am-11:15am – The War in Ukraine: Military Operations and Foreign Fighters

• Chair: Alexandra Wishart, University of Ottawa
• Paul Robinson, University of Ottawa – A Military Perspective on the War in Ukraine
• Major Harry Gorham, University of Glasgow – Ukraine’s Combined Arms Operations since February 2022
• Jean-François Ratelle, University of Ottawa – An Overview of Foreign Fighter Groups for Ukraine

11:15am-11:30am – Coffee break

11:30am-12:45pm – The War in Ukraine: Contextual Factors Supporting Foreign Fighters

• Chair: Mark Youngman, Threatologist
• Dominique Arel, University of Ottawa – From Ukraine’s Unnamed War (2014-2021) to Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion (2022-2023)
• Bertrand Belhomme de Franqueville, University of Ottawa – The Far-Right and Far-Left in Ukraine

12:45pm-1:45pm – Lunch

1:45pm-3:45pm – Chechen Foreign Fighters in Ukraine

• Chair: Jean-François Ratelle, University of Ottawa
• Harold Chambers, Indiana University – Chechen Foreign Fighters in Ukraine
• Marat Ilyasov, Miami University of Ohio – Political Agenda of the Chechen Fighters in Ukraine
• Mark Youngman, Threatologist – The Other Foreign Fighters: Mapping the Chechen Security Services
• Aset Sabdulaeva, Chechen Republic of Ichkeria – The Chechen Government-in-Exile and the War in Ukraine

October 19, 2023

9:00am-9:30am – Registration and Breakfast

9:30am-11:30am – Returnees in the Former Soviet Union and Beyond

• Chair: Marat Ilyasov, Miami University of Ohio
• Noah Tucker, University of St. Andrews – Conflict Migration and Reintegration of Foreign Fighters in Central Asia
• Elena Zhirukhina, University of St. Andrews – ‘Identifying Factors Beyond Policies Towards Foreign Terrorist Fighters and Families in Central Asia’ (Online)
• Alexander Yeo, University of Glasgow – (Pseudo) Foreign Fighters: Cultural Norms Among South Ossetian Fighters in the Ukrainian Conflict.  

11:30am-12:30pm – Lunch

12:30pm-2:30pm – Foreign Fighters in Ukraine and Syria: A Comparative Analysis

• Chair: Thomas Juneau, University of Ottawa
• Elena Pokalova, National Defense University – Professional Foreign Fighters or Displaced Insurgents? Trends from the Caucasus
• Vera Mironova, Harvard University – A Fieldwork Perspective on Foreign Fighters in Syria and Ukraine
• Aleksandre Kvakhadze, University of Birmingham – Contributory Factors of the Foreign Fighters’ Mobilisation

2:30pm-3:00pm – Coffee Break

3:00pm-3:30pm – Conclusion