No. 93: Political Islam

Jean-François Ratelle investigates the causes behind the downfall of the North Caucasus insurgency focusing on the pre-Sochi counter-insurgency and the massive outflow of foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq, arguing that although the insurgency has been crushed and entered a latent and incipient stage in 2014, the potential return of foreign fighters coupled with the recurrent discriminatory policies against Islam in Russia and the Islamic State’s online propaganda might trigger a new spillover and upsurge of insurgent violence outside of the North Caucasus; Michael Hikari Cecire provides an empirical account of the growth of non-“Chechen” Islamist extremism in Georgia, focusing primarily on ethnic Georgian Muslim populations in southwestern Georgia and examines potential causes for Adjaran radicalization as well as its potential growth trajectory, and analyzes possible impacts on domestic and regional affairs; Arzu Geybulla explores the presence of religious groups in Azerbaijan, their varying influence, and the role Azerbaijani state authorities play in their growth and popularity, positing that it is largely the economic, political, and social grievances that drive popular dissent in Azerbaijan, as opposed to major trends in radicalization itself.