01658nas a2200205   4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653002100058653001100079653007700090653001800167653001700185653002300202653001200225100002400237245009700261300001100358490000700369520107600376       2016                            d  cSummer 201610aforeign fighters10aFrance10ainstitutional top-down and bottom-up individual recruitment/mobilization10aIslamic State10aSaudi Arabia10athe United Kingdom10aTunisia1 aAlmakan Orozobekova00aThe Mobilization and Recruitment of Foreign Fighters: The Case of Islamic State, 2012–2014  a83-1000 v153 a<p>This article examines how foreign fighters were recruited and mobilized for Islamic State in 2012-2014. Institutional and individual approaches to this phenomenon form the basis of understanding the mechanisms used for the mobilization and recruitment of foreign fighters. The former refers to a terrorist institution that plays a key role in the recruitment of individuals (top-down/institutional), and the latter refers to the self-radicalization process that foreign fighters undergo (bottom-up/ individual). In particular, the research focuses on an analysis of Islamic State and the recruitment/mobilization of sixteen foreign fighters from Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, France, and the United Kingdom. The analysis shows that both top-down and bottom-up concepts are important but that the extent to which each is used depends on the profiles of the country in question. The study concludes by demonstrating the comparative value of top-down and bottom-up approaches in terms of understanding contemporary terrorist recruitment and providing policy recommendations.</p>