‘Caribbean Jihad’ : radical social networks and ISIS foreign fighters from Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

The cataclysmic rise to prominence of the Radical Islamic Network (RIN) in Trinidad and Tobago afforded this small twin island developing state, the unenviable title of Highest Exporter of ISIS foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) per capita in the Western Hemisphere. Such notoriety jolted the nation to re-examine and revise its strategies to treat with radicalisation and religious extremism, with special emphasis on transnational militancy. As such, this research effort explores the FTF issue through the lens of the radical social network and the Radical Milieu from which these fighters emerged. This network centric approach to Islamic militancy in Trinidad and Tobago is a novel one that illuminates on the intersection of people, places and events, that integrated ideas and mobilized resources into the complex geoclustered network of FTFs. The application of Social Network Analysis (SNA) has provided an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the defining relationships within the RIN and how the structural properties of the network protected some members whilst it progressed others to Jihad and Martyrdom.