Chechnya: From Nationalism to Jihad (National and Ethnic Conflict in the 21st Century)

The conflict in Chechnya involves many of the most contentious issues in contemporary international politics. By providing us with a persuasive and challenging study, Hughes sets out the indispensable lessons for other conflicts involving the volatile combination of insurgency and counterinsurgency, most notably the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The conflict in Chechnya involves many of the most contentious issues in contemporary international politics. By providing us with a persuasive and challenging study, Hughes sets out the indispensable lessons for other conflicts involving the volatile combination of insurgency and counterinsurgency, most notably the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Conflict Between Russia And Chechnya Stands As An Exception To The Mostly Peaceful Breakup Of The Soviet Union. Seven Years Into The Second Russian-chechen War, The Two Protagonists Are Now Embroiled In What Seems To Be An Unbridgeable Conflict, With Prospects For Either A Military Or Diplomatic Solution Seeming Increasingly Remote. Western Commentators Have Explained This Conflict As Being Rooted In Ancient Hatreds, Yet Successive Russian Leaders Have Negatively Framed It As A Counter-terrorism Operation Against Bandits, Terrorists, And Islamic Radicals, A Characterization That Was Coopted By The U.s.-led Global War On Terror. The Conflict Is Now Widely Understood As Part Of A Global Trend Of Resistance In Islamic Societies Mutating From A Secular, Nationalist Struggle Into A Form That Is Its Antithesis, Jihad.^ Through A Critical Exploration Of The Most Widely Held Assumptions About The Nature Of The Conflict, Chechnya: From Nationalism To Jihad Provides A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Causes And Dynamics Of The Conflict From The Collapse Of The Soviet Union In 1991 To The Present. Rejecting Historicist Explanations, The Book Traces The Conflict's Origins To The Politics Of Nationalism And The Demands For National Self-determination In The Region In The Late 1980s. Hughes Convincingly Shows How The Violent Conflict That Followed Was Instrumentalized By Political Leadership In Russia And Chechnya To Consolidate Authority And Build Popular Support For Their Conflicting Nationalist Visions. Exploring Recent Currents In Theories Of Nationalism, Democratization, State Building, And Conflict, Hughes Demonstrates Their Limitations When Applied To Developments In Chechnya.^ The Book Focuses On The Conflict As A Process, Demonstrating That How The Conflict Has Been Fought Is Itself A Dynamic Factor That Is Consistently Structuring And Restructuring The Issues At Stake And The Salience Of The Key Protagonists. The Conflict In Chechnya Involves Many Of The Most Contentious Issues In Contemporary International Politics. How Do We Differentiate Between The Legitimate Use Of Violent Resistance To Occupation And Terrorism Against Legitimate Rule? Why Do Deeply Divided Societies Sometimes Descend Into Political Violence? Under What Conditions Might Common Mechanisms Of Conflict Management Succeed? By Providing Us With A Persuasive And Challenging Study, Hughes Sets Out Indispensable Lessons For Other Conflicts Involving The Volatile Combination Of Insurgency And Counter-insurgency, Most Notably The Wars In Iraq And Afghanistan. The Causes Of Conflict -- Russia's Refederalization And Chechnya's Secession -- A Secular Nationalist Conflict -- Dual Radicalization: The Making Of Jihad -- Chechnya And The Meaning Of Terrorism -- Chechnya And The Study Of Conflict. James Hughes. Series From Jacket. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [251]-268) And Index.

The sheer scale and brutality of the hostilities between Russia and Chechnya stand out as an exception in the mostly peaceful breakup of the Soviet Union. Chechnya: From Nationalism to Jihad provides a fascinating analysis of the transformation of secular nationalist resistance in a nominally Islamic society into a struggle that is its antithesis, jihad. Hughes locates Chechen nationalism within the wider movement for national self-determination that followed the collapse of the Soviet empire. When negotiations failed in the early 1990s, political violence was instrumentalized to consolidate opposing nationalist visions of state-building in Russia and Chechnya. The resistance in Chechnya also occurred in a regional context where Russian hegemony over the Caucasus, especially the resources of the Caspian basin, was in retreat, and in an international context of rising Islamic radicalism. Alongside Bosnia, Kashmir, and other conflicts, Chechnya became embedded in Osama Bin Laden's repertoire of jihadist rhetoric against the "West." It was not simply Russia's destruction of a nationalist option for Chechnya, or "Wahabbist" infiltration from without, that created the political space for Islamism. Rather, we must look also at how the conflict was fought. The lack of proportionality and discrimination in the use of violence, particularly by Russia, accelerated and intensified the Islamic radicalization and thereby transformed the nature of the conflict.

This nuanced and balanced study provides a much-needed antidote to the mythologizing of Chechen resistance before, and its demonization after, 9/11. The conflict in Chechnya involves one of the most contentious issues in contemporary international politics—how do we differentiate between the legitimate use of violence to resist imperialism, occupation, and misgovernment, and the use of terrorism against legitimate rule? This book sets out indispensable lessons for understanding conflicts involving the volatile combination of nationalist insurgency, jihad, and terrorism, most notably for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The sheer scale and brutality of the hostilities between Russia and Chechnya stand out as an exception in the mostly peaceful breakup of the Soviet Union. Chechnya: From Nationalism to Jihad provides a fascinating analysis of the transformation of secular nationalist resistance in a nominally Islamic society into a struggle that is its antithesis, jihad. Hughes locates Chechen nationalism within the wider movement for national self-determination that followed the collapse of the Soviet empire. When negotiations failed in the early 1990s, political violence was instrumentalized to consolidate opposing nationalist visions of state-building in Russia and Chechnya. The resistance in Chechnya also occurred in a regional context where Russian hegemony over the Caucasus, especially the resources of the Caspian basin, was in retreat, and in an international context of rising Islamic radicalism. Alongside Bosnia, Kashmir, and other conflicts, Chechnya became embedded in Osama Bin Laden's repertoire of jihadist rhetoric against the "West." It was not simply Russia's destruction of a nationalist option for Chechnya, or "Wahabbist" infiltration from without, that created the political space for Islamism. Rather, we must look also at how the conflict was fought. The lack of proportionality and discrimination in the use of violence, particularly by Russia, accelerated and intensified the Islamic radicalization and thereby transformed the nature of the conflict. This nuanced and balanced study provides a much-needed antidote to the mythologizing of Chechen resistance before, and its demonization after, 9/11. The conflict in Chechnya involves one of the most contentious issues in contemporary international politics—how do we differentiate between the legitimate use of violence to resist imperialism, occupation, and misgovernment, and the use of terrorism against legitimate rule? This book sets out indispensable lessons for understanding conflicts involving the volatile combination of nationalist insurgency, jihad, and terrorism, most notably for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Contents Preface Chapter 1. The Causes of Conflict Chapter 2. Russia's Refederalization and Chechnya's Secession Chapter 3. A Secular Nationalist Conflict Chapter 4. Dual Radicalization: The Making of Jihad Chapter 5. Chechnya and the Meaning of Terrorism Chapter 6. Chechnya and the Study of Conflict Chapter 7. Conclusion Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgments The conflict in Chechnya involves many of the most contentious issues in contemporary international politics. By providing us with a persuasive and challenging study, this work sets out the lessons for other conflicts involving the volatile combination of insurgency and counterinsurgency, most notably the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.