From Wahhabism to Islamic extremism: Russia confronting Islamism in conflicts at home and abroad

Abstract

The article explores the evolving role of Islamism in Russian national security discourse from the post-Soviet conflicts in the North Caucasus to present Russian engagement in Syria. It traces the development of the term “Wahhabi” as a shorthand for Islamist practices, including subversive and violent activity, and how that label has come to be replaced by an even more amorphous specter of “international terrorists” as the main source of such threats. The article concludes that in Russia, as in many other countries, the arbitrary divide between “good Muslims” and “bad Muslims” in national security discourse is largely subordinate to, and serves to obscure, more important realpolitik aims.