A critical assessment of the scholarship on violent conflicts in the North Caucasus during the post-Soviet period

Abstract

This article provides an in-depth literature review of the different trends and debates in the English academic literature on the violent conflicts in the North Caucasus during the postSoviet period. This literature review is separated into three major debates and focused on four major themes that consistently appear in the study of violent conflicts in the North Caucasus: nationalism and identity (grievance), criminality and opportunism (greed), repression (revenge and trauma), and religion (radicalization). The first debate concentrates on the structural factors explaining mass mobilization in the North Caucasus following the end of the Soviet Union. The second debate underscores the role of religious radicalization in mobilization patterns in Chechnya and the North Caucasus, as well as its potential links with other conflicts (Afghanistan and Syria) and the importance of suicide bombings. Finally, the third debate focuses on the study of counter-insurgency and counterterrorism, the development of the Caucasus Emirate, and the diffusion of insurgent violence across the region. The article concludes by underlining the need to engage on a larger theorization of violent mobilization in the North Caucasus seeking to integrate structural, organizational and individual variables linking the global dynamics and local specificities of the region.

Terrorist risk assessment in the regions of the Russian Federation

“…It should also be noted that there are very slight differences between the set of independent factors in the two models. In general, they are often mentioned in most studies of violent conflicts in the Russian North Caucasus, which are divided into four main approaches to justifying the causes of terrorism resulting from either nationalism and identity (“discontent”), crime and opportunism (“greed”), repression (“revenge” and “historical trauma”), or religion as justification for previous causes (“radicalization”) (Ratelle, 2015).…”

La propaganda como termómetro de la lucha armada: el caso del Emirato del Cáucaso (2010-2019)

“…Incluso aunque haya poderosas razones internas por las que vaticinar que una organización va a desaparecer, podrían existir factores contextuales que reactivasen el conflicto: la aparición de otros focos violentos en territorios fronterizos con Chechenia (Holland, Witmer y O'Loughlin 2017); la creación de nuevos grupos armados, como la filial del Estado Islámico en Rusia; o la persistencia de las causas estructurales (corrup-ción, impunidad, represión, ausencia de bienestar social, etc.) que contribuyen a acelerar la radicalización (Janeczko 2014;Ratelle 2015). De ese modo, es necesario considerar otros elementos de contraste -más allá del número de atentadosantes de afirmar el debilitamiento de la violencia yihadista en el Cáucaso.…”