Islam as Resistance, Islam as control: Reconfiguring State-Religion Relations in Modern Chechnya

After the Second Chechen War (1999-2000), the Kremlin's strategy of “Chechenization” (analogous to Vietnamization) led to the establishment of Kadyrov's clan regime (Eichler, 2011). Kadyrov's clan uses Islamic institutions and norms to consolidate power and legitimize its authority, trying to create a caliphate or emirate within a secular post-Soviet state. As a result of this process, Islam, which once played an important role in Chechnya's anti-colonial and separatist mobilization in the late 90s, has been transformed into a state-controlled ideology aligned with the federal nominally Christian center (Selentyeva, 2018). The primary method of the research is a theory- testing process tracing. I will reconstruct causal chains by laying out the sequence of events and mechanisms linking Putin’s federal policy with the local politics of the Kadyrovs' ruling family. Also, this research incorporates qualitative discourse analysis of Russian- and Chechen-language media, officials'...Show moreAfter the Second Chechen War (1999-2000), the Kremlin's strategy of “Chechenization” (analogous to Vietnamization) led to the establishment of Kadyrov's clan regime (Eichler, 2011). Kadyrov's clan uses Islamic institutions and norms to consolidate power and legitimize its authority, trying to create a caliphate or emirate within a secular post-Soviet state. As a result of this process, Islam, which once played an important role in Chechnya's anti-colonial and separatist mobilization in the late 90s, has been transformed into a state-controlled ideology aligned with the federal nominally Christian center (Selentyeva, 2018). The primary method of the research is a theory- testing process tracing. I will reconstruct causal chains by laying out the sequence of events and mechanisms linking Putin’s federal policy with the local politics of the Kadyrovs' ruling family. Also, this research incorporates qualitative discourse analysis of Russian- and Chechen-language media, officials' speeches, and informal conversations with independent journalists. Following the process of Islam's transformation, this study contributes to the broader Academic discussion of post- conflict state-building and authoritarian resilience in Muslim regions of the Russian FederationShow less

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Islam as Resistance, Islam as control: Reconfiguring State-Religion Relations in Modern Chechnya