FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 8, 2005
CONTACT: Jennifer Linker, 202/939-2372 or jlinker@CarnegieEndowment.org

The brutal conflict in Chechnya stymies Western ability to contain the expansive Islamic jihad movement, and requires a collective Western revamping of policy towards Chechnya and the broader North Caucasus region, write Eurasian experts, Fiona Hill, Anatol Lieven, and Thomas de Waal, in a new policy brief, A Spreading Danger: Time for a New Policy Toward Chechnya.  In it, they argue that only a change of policy irrespective of Russian preferences and influence will make a difference and improve the situation. The full-text is available at www.CarnegieEndowment.org/Chechnyaconflict.

The decade long conflict in Chechnya led by militant separatists has contributed to a larger international security failure, and the brief explains that “there clearly is now an ideological and financial link between Chechen radicals and international jihadi terrorists, and there is also a demonstration effect.” This may lead to a “soft target” attack on Western governments or interests to propagate the broader Islamist extremist message.

The authors argue that Western response should include an economic plan to restructure and help the North Caucasus; an ongoing political process in Chechnya that bolsters political participation and economic development; and a change in the Russian-Western dialogue over the Chechen separatist movement. Soured relations between Russia and the West continue over events in this region, with Russia’s often excessive military policy towards Chechnya and exaggerated Western media portrayals of the casualties as catalysts of disagreement. The West, however, must engage in a re-evaluation of the conflict and re-design its approach.

The brief outlines a plan for engaging Russia in this new approach towards the Chechen conflict and the region, while offering examples of Western incentives to be presented to Russia. Such a plan under an international body could at least bring a genuine shift in the conflict although not to its conclusion. 

Fiona Hill is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and has researched, published, and commented extensively on Russian and Eurasian affairs. Anatol Lieven is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and author of Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian Power (Yale University Press, 1998). Thomas de Waal is Caucasus editor at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.

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