| dc.description.abstract | Globalisation and transnational migration have increased the impact of insurgencies overseas on European security. The
presence of a significant Muslim diaspora in Europe, and the emergence of Islamist support networks in Europe for
insurgencies in North Africa, the Middle East and Asia pose a number of policy dilemmas for Western governments.
This report offers an empirical exploration of the insurgent-support network of the Algerian Islamist insurgents, with a
focus on the Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA). A theoretical framework for understanding insurgent strategies visà-vis
the sanctuary or host state is presented, emphasising the difficult trade-off between maximising the benefits of
sanctuary and reducing friction with the host states. The case study of the Algerian GIA’s sanctuary strategies offers
particular insight into an insurgent movement’s decision to turn to violence against the sanctuary state. It appears that a
specific set of coincidental factors contributed to this decision. They included a declining value of the sanctuary due to
police repression, a critical stage in the domestic insurgency, and a finally, the insurgent movement’s perception that the
disruption of sanctuary state – host state relations was critical to the outcome of the insurgency. In general, this study
underlines the value of the sanctuary model for understanding the phenomenon of international terrorism by overseas
insurgent movements. | en_GB |