From Byron to the Islamic State : exploring the figure of the ‘Foreign Combatant’ in international law (1907 - present).

Summary The figure of the "foreign combatant/volunteer" has haunted international law for some time now. A hybrid actor ranging from romantic adventurer to committed idealist to right-wing racist mercenary to, most recently, international terrorist, the "foreign combatant" has proven extremely difficult to systematize using formal legal categories. More specifically, these categorizations are also the result of highly contextual and deeply politicized assessments of who is to be considered a "good" or "legitimate" foreign fighter. As such, they have worked to exclude other foreign combatants on the battlefield, as well as to delegitimize political opponents in these ideological struggles in the context of non-international armed conflict. By detouring through three distinct moments in recent civil war history, this thesis seeks to show how different "figures" of the foreign combatant have shaped and continue to shape the legal conversations of state officials, legislators, international lawyers, and domestic courts at very different times and places. These "figures" are present in the background of legislators' various arguments and positions, permeating and shaping their legal imaginaries. They constitute an ambivalent repertoire that can be revived and used again and again to characterize the good or bad nature of foreign combatants' causes, thus contributing to making the "foreign combatant" a highly ambivalent category whose legacy will continue to haunt international law.