Criminological research usually directs its focus at traditional forms of offending. Thepurpose of this article is to discuss the extent to which traditional criminologicaltheories can be used to understand a modern form of terrorism. The main issue to explain iswhy young men and women from a Western European country, such as Sweden, are joining Daeshin Iraq and Syria. The conclusion is that many criminology theories are useful to analysethe factors behind the affiliation to Daesh. The majority of those recruited into thisorganization have in many respects a similar background to individuals recruited to otherforms of serious organized violent crimes. It should be noted that many of the theoriesdiscussed in the paper are more relevant for the understanding of why men join Daesh. Whenit comes to the recruitment of women these theories’ explanatory value is more limited.However, this applies also to these theories’ ability to explain female crime in general.
