Religion as a factor in Caucasian conflicts

The many conflicts that have raged in the Caucasus since the end of the 1980s have often been depicted in the media and academia as basically religious in character. The religious differences between parties to conflicts are emphasized and often exaggerated. In particular, the Caucasus has been taken as an example of the ‘clash of civilizations’ supposedly under way. This article seeks to challenge this perception of the Caucasian conflicts, arguing that religion has played a limited role in conflicts that are in essence ethnopolitical and territorial in character. The article argues that seldom are religious bodies or institutions used to legitimize conflict behaviour in this region ‐ there has been no Jihad in the Caucasus, for example ‐ nor has the polarization of the parties to a conflict been underpinned primarily by religious identity or theological perspectives. As such, religious conflict can not be spoken of. Furthermore there has occurred no rallying of outside powers along religious lines; in fact empirical evidence shows that religion has had little impact — especially when compared to ethnicity — in the international ramification of these conflicts.