Novikova Olga Nikolaevna – Ph.D. in History, Head of the Department of Europe and America INION RAS
The purpose of the paper is to track processes of radicalization in Central Asia (CA) leading to acts of terrorism in Europe and to show the Western approach to the multiple drivers for violent extremism in СА. The revival of Islam throughout the region was a natural factor, as it filled the ideological vacuum formed after the collapse of the communist ideology, and the radicalization of Muslims could not be a consequence of these processes. Western scholars are viewing the efforts of the CA governments to counter radicalization and violent extremism through the lens of the «Western values» framing them in human-rights terms. The authoritarian states of Central Asia do monitor the activities of all religious groups and individuals but the author is sure that such religious restrictions cannot lead to violent extremism in Central Asia. The conflict is not between Islam and secularism, the real dispute unfolds within Islam: the traditional faith opposes radical brands of Islam. The governments of Central Asian states are not opposed to Islam per se, but rather to radical, politicized Islam, which serves as a framework for political opposition. Hundreds of Central Asian citizens travelled to the Middle East to support Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. The populations most at risk of radicalization are residents of the border regions of the CA states, ethnic minorities, youth, migrants, divorced women and orphans. Geographic proximity of the region to Afghanistan also matters. Now the exodus to wage jihad in the Middle East or in Afghanistan is not an immediate threat, but it should be borne in mind that the surviving IS fighters are returning to Europe, Central Asia and Russia.
Central Asia, Islam, radicalization, violent extremism, eth-nic minorities, youth, migrants
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