Lebedev V.S. Institutional Foundations of the Politicisation of Islam in Chechnya and Dagestan

Abstract: The subject of the present article is the institutional foundation of interaction of state and municipal authorities and Islamic religious organisations. In particular, the author pays attention to the study of formal and informal institutional practices in this field. The direct object of analysis is the existing legislative framework and the informal practices of interaction between religious and political spheres in the Republic of Chechnya and the Republic of Dagestan. Significant attention in the article is paid to the disclosure of common features and peculiarities of the existing interaction between the authorities and Islamic organisations (as exemplified by the Muslim spiritual directorates) in Chechnya and Dagestan, which could allow to classify the models of politicisation of Islam in these regions. The main methodological approach used in this work is neo-institutionalism. The research includes comparative analysis of existing regulatory and legal framework regarding the subject of the study, as well as interviews with experts. The conducted research allowed to draw conclusions regarding the implementation of different models of politicisation of islam in Chechnya and Dagestan. The scenario of politicisation of Islam "from above" appears to be typical for Chechnya, and in Dagestan the variant of politicisation of Islam "from below" is more likely nowadays. In both cases it can be stated that there is a breakaway from strictly secular forms of interaction between Islam and politics. In Chechnya there is an emerging model of intensive cooperation between the authorities and the Muslim Spiritual Directorate. Such practice cannot be stated to exist in Dagestan yet. 

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