IN SEARCH OF GREATER MONSTERS TO SLAY: EXPLORING THE MOTIVATIONS OF CHECHEN FOREIGN FIGHTERS IN SYRIA AND IRAQ FIGHTING FOR THE ISLAMIC STATE by Sarah Martin A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Conflict Analysis and Resolution Committee: ___________________________________________ Chair of Committee ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ Graduate Program Director ___________________________________________ Dean, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution Date: _____________________________________ Spring Semester 2018 George Mason University Fairfax, VA In Search of Greater Monsters to Slay: Exploring the Motivations of Chechen Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq Fighting for the Islamic State A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at George Mason University by Sarah Martin Bachelor of Science American University, 2013 Director: Susan Allen, Associate Professor, Director, Center for Peacemaking Practice School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution Spring Semester 2018 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Copyright 2018 Sarah Martin All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION This is dedicated to everyone I had to turn down because “I’m busy. I have a thesis to write, you know.” I can do stuff again. Call me. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the many friends, relatives, and supporters who have made this happen, especially my friends Sofia Bachman and Rob Bruner. The final product that you are reading would not have reached this stage without their diligent work. I would also like to thank Alex Tiersky of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, for his help and guidance in shaping the section on policy recommendations. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... ix Abstract ............................................................................................................................... x Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: Foreign Fighters ............................................................................................ 4 Why Fight Abroad? ......................................................................................................... 4 What is the concern about foreign fighters? .................................................................... 8 Why is it alarming that Chechens are in Syria? ............................................................ 10 Chapter Two: Why do Chechens Fight in the jihad? ........................................................ 12 “Jihadism” ..................................................................................................................... 12 Islam in Chechnya ......................................................................................................... 18 Sufism: Uniquely Indigenous .................................................................................... 18 Sovietization .............................................................................................................. 20 The Encroachment of Salafism .................................................................................. 23 A Small, Victorious…Religious War? .......................................................................... 28 The Mountain of a Movement ....................................................................................... 30 Compromise............................................................................................................... 31 The Foreign Fighter Network .................................................................................... 34 The Emirate ................................................................................................................... 37 Ramzan Kadyrov: Chechnya’s Hope and Villain ......................................................... 40 Chapter Three: In Their Own Words ................................................................................ 44 Methodology ................................................................................................................. 45 “Chechens in Syria” ................................................................................................... 45 Grounded Theory ....................................................................................................... 46 Inclusion Criteria ....................................................................................................... 47 v “Foreign Fighter” .................................................................................................. 47 “Chechen” ............................................................................................................. 47 “The Islamic State” ............................................................................................... 49 Limitations .................................................................................................................... 49 Findings ......................................................................................................................... 52 Open Coding .............................................................................................................. 52 Axial Coding.............................................................................................................. 56 Selective Coding ........................................................................................................ 57 Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 58 Refining the Research Question ................................................................................ 58 Evaluations ................................................................................................................ 59 Why are Chechens Fighting in Syria with the Islamic State? ....................................... 62 Chapter Four: Conclusions ............................................................................................... 65 Opportunities for Future Work ...................................................................................... 66 Policy Recommendations .............................................................................................. 67 Final Thoughts............................................................................................................... 72 Appendix A: The History of the Russo-Chechen Conflict .............................................. 75 Who are the Chechens? ................................................................................................. 75 The Caucasus Wars (1817-1864) .................................................................................. 80 The Deportation of 1944 ............................................................................................... 83 Appendix B: A Clash of Personalities and Extremes: The First and Second Chechen Wars ........................................................................................................................................... 87 The First War (1994-1996) ........................................................................................... 87 Why was the Second Chechen War (1999-2009) so destructive? ................................ 90 Appendix C: “Chechens in Syria” Codebook ................................................................... 94 Metadata Variables ........................................................................................................ 94 Personal Metadata Variables ......................................................................................... 95 Ethnic Identity Variables ............................................................................................... 96 Motivation ..................................................................................................................... 98 Grounded Theory .......................................................................................................... 99 References ....................................................................................................................... 101 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 1 Open Coding Grouping 55 Table 2 Axial Coding Count 59 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Figure 1 Map from Grozny to Idlib (Google) ..................................................................... 7 Figure 2 The Foreign Fighter Cycle, from Byman and Shapiro, Be Afraid........................ 8 Figure 3 Map of the North Caucasus ................................................................................ 12 Figure 4 Violence Statistics in the North Caucasus from 2010-2016 ............................... 41 Figure 5 Count of Chechen Foreign Fighter Motivations (by group) ..............................