RADICAL TERRORISM, A THREAT FOR NATIONAL SECURITY OF KOSOVO

The countries of the Western Balkans have been in the international spotlight in recent years due to being the first per capita exporter in Europe of volunteers fighting for Salafist Jihad armed organizations such as ISIS and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (known formerly known as Jabhal al-Nusra) .1 Thus, the interest of researchers in the region for this phenomenon has increased, especially in the countries most affected by it, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, but also in Macedonia and Albania. . Their policy findings and recommendations have been used to date for various state strategies and have served as the basis for designing measures to combat or prevent violent extremism. In fact, no external conflict has affected Kosovo from within like this. Two Kosovars carried out suicide attacks in Iraq, and several others rose to the top of the ISIS hierarchy, one of whom rose to fame through a horrific act of beheading that was broadcast globally. Other Kosovars have carried out attacks on Western Europe and the United States. Characterized by religious tolerance, Kosovo was taken out of control as the influence of extremist groups increased. Kosovo has since stepped up its activities to combat violent extremism with more than 100 arrests and investigations launched against about 78 people suspected of involvement in recruitment activities for ISIS and Al Nusra. It also adopted the Strategy for the Prevention of Extremism and Violent Radicalization in the Fight against Terrorism 2015-2020 , to address the long-term problem of violent extremism on the ground, supported by UNDP. With a comprehensive legislative framework for combating violent extremism (CVE), in 2016, Kosovo expanded its legislative framework needed to address new CVE-related challenges