states, which are seen to be complicit).33 While religion is part of the landscape, assumptions regarding so-called religious “fundamentalism” being the key driving factor are increasingly disputed, as reflected, for example, in the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism (hereafter UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism).34 Likewise, a 2016 study by a group of mostly United States military researchers at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point found that religion was “not the strongest driving force”, emphasizing instead “cultural and political identities” and “a narrative that is focused on the ongoing deprivation of Muslims, both in specific Western polities, as well as in the international arena.”35 A report by UNOCT also distinguishes religion as such from a “sense of identity with – and a desire to help – co-religionists who are perceived as victimized and mistreated by other groups” as a common theme.36 Another commonality in several studies is reference to socio-economic realities, including the correlation between high unemployment and FTF flows. While a 2016 study suggested this was true from within “the Muslim world”,37 a later analysis suggests that poor education and employment rates were also key push factors for many, but by no means all, FTFs from European contexts.38 The UNOCT also refers more broadly to individuals “isolated from mainstream social, economic and political activity”.39 Difficult personal and dysfunctional family circumstances were also identified as common features of the sample of FTFs considered in that study.40 As regards returnees, who are increasingly the focus of policymakers’ attention, the July 2017 UNOCT report points to similar diversity. It notes that “few of those who go to Syria 33  Empathy for Muslim victims of violence and the perceived complicity of “Western” powers in perpetuating conflicts in the Middle East, for example, are cited as driving factors for women who choose to join ISIL. See: Van Leuven, Mazurana and Gordon, “Analysing the Recruitment and Use of Foreign Men and Women in ISIL through a Gender Perspective” in FFILB, pp. 97-121, op. cit., note 14. 34  See UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism, Report to the UN Human Rights Council, UN Doc. A/ HRC/31/65, 22 February 2016, para. 15: “Commentators have noted that there can be too much focus on religious ideology as the driver of terrorism and extremism, while factors related to identity, or misguided altruism, are overlooked”. 35  “From Cradle to Grave: The Lifecycle of Foreign Fighters in Iraq and Syria”, Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, November 2016, <https://ctc.usma.edu/app/uploads/2016/11/Cradle-to-Grave2.pdf>; see also: “Tariq Ramadan: As Muslims Condemn Spain Attack, Americans Must Denounce U.S. Killings in Syria, Iraq”, Democracy Now, 24 August 2017, <www.democracynow.org/2017/8/24/tariq_ramadan_as_muslims_condemn_spain>. 36  UNOCT Report July 2017, p.3, op. cit., note 27, which notes that one of the most common reasons for travelling to Syria is empathy with the Sunni communities believed to be under attack for their beliefs. 37  See J.M. Berger, “Making CVE Work: A Focused Approach Based on Process Disruption”, p. 5, op. cit., note 32. Cautioning against the risks of arguing for single-issue causations, Berger referred to a large-scale study that found a correlation between high unemployment and high FTF flows from within “the Muslim world” but the opposite correlation for foreign fighters from “non-Muslim countries”. 38  UNOCT Report July 2017, p. 5, op. cit., note 27. 39  “Most FTFs in this sample come from large families in urban communities that are rather isolated from mainstream social, economic and political activity. Some of the families from which these particular FTFs come often show signs of internal dysfunction or stress”, according to the UNOCT Report July 2017, p. 4, op. cit., note 27. 40  Ibid. Guidelines for Addressing the Threats and Challenges of “Foreign Terrorist Fighters” 15