The Impact of the Instability and Impunity Problem Associated with Ethnic Diversity on Regional Security: The Case of Dagestan

Year 2023, Volume: 12 Issue: 2, 834 - 848, 27.04.2023

Zeynep Deniz Altınsoy Filiz Değer Ali Açıkgöz

https://doi.org/10.33206/mjss.1251464

Abstract

Dagestan today is one of the most experienced republics in the North Caucasus Region concerning handling and familiarity with weapons. The most important factor in having this culture is the political crises and events that took place during the Soviet period. It is believed that the source of weapons in the country is Chechnya, and there have been historical reasons underlying this, as well as unique political institutions that have been developed in parallel with ethnic diversity since the 1990s. Based on the fact that the influence of the Russian Federation on other countries that left the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) has not been lost even many years before the start of the Ukrainian-Russian war, the possibility of shaking the stability that Dagestan has relatively provided nowadays comes to the agenda. As much as the presence of these groups makes the people of Dagestan nervous, it threatens the entire geography in terms of the loss of stability in the region, the ignition of a significant conflict in the Caucasus, and, therefore, the countries of the region will also be affected by this conflict. Considering the political and ethnic structure of Dagestan, the government’s attempts to collect weapons, rather than maintaining order and increasing public security, cause a group with high conflict potential to collect weapons from the hands of another high-potential group, creating the perception that the tool of this is political power. This study is based on the data obtained by literature review with qualitative methods.

Keywords

The Problem of Impunity, Ethnicity, Wahhabism, the North Caucasus, Dagestan

Etnik Çeşitlilikle Gelen İstikrarsızlık ve Cezasızlık Sorununun Bölgesel Güvenliğe Etkisi: Dağıstan Örneği

Abstract

Dağıstan bugün Kuzey Kafkasya Bölgesinde silah kullanma ve silaha aşina olma konusunda en tecrübeli cumhuriyetlerden biridir. Bu kültüre sahip olmasında en önemli etken ise Sovyet döneminde yaşanan siyasi krizler ve olaylar olarak kabul görür. Ülkedeki silah kaynağının Çeçenistan olduğu düşünülmektedir ve bunun da altında yatan tarihi nedenlerin yanı sıra 1990’lardan itibaren etnik çeşitliliğe paralel olarak geliştirilen benzersiz siyasi kurumlar olmuştur. Dağıstan’da Cemaat olarak ifade bulan, etnik kökene göre şekillenen aşiretler bu siyasi kurumlar ile entegrasyon sağlamış dolayısıyla bölgede savaş niteliği kazanmayan çatışmalar haricinde büyük krizlere neden olacak sorunlar şimdiye kadar yaşanmamıştır. Ukrayna-Rusya savaşının başlamasından yıllar önce dahi Rusya Federasyonu’nun, Sovyet Sosyalist Cumhuriyetler Birliği’nden (SSCB) ayrılan diğer ülkelerde etkisinin kaybolmadığı gerçeğinden hareketle bugünlerde Dağıstan’ın görece sağlamış olduğu istikrarın sarsılma ihtimali gündeme gelmektedir. Bu grupların varlığı Dağıstan halkını tedirgin ettiği kadar bölgede istikrarın kaybolması, Kafkaslarda önemli bir çatışmanın ateşlenmesi dolayısıyla bölge ülkelerinin de bu çatışmadan etkilenmesi açısından tüm coğrafyayı tehdit etmektedir. Dağıstan’ın siyasi ve etnik yapısı göze alındığında hükümetin uygulamış olduğu silah toplama girişimleri düzeni sağlamak ve kamu güvenliğini arttırmaktan çok çatışma potansiyeli yüksek bir grubun diğer yüksek potansiyelli grubun elinden silahları toplatması, bunun aracının da siyasi güç olduğu algısını yaratmaktadır. Bu çalışma nitel yöntemler ile literatür taraması yapılarak elde edilen verilere dayanmaktadır.

Keywords

Cezasızlık Sorunu, Etnisite, Vahhabilik, Kuzey Kafkasya, Dağıstan

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