Cornell, Svante
1998
Religion as a Factor in Caucasian Conflicts
Civil Wars
1
3
46-64
The many conflicts that have raged in the Caucasus since the end of the 1980's 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 is a mistaken perception of the Caucasus, where religion has played a limited role in conflicts that are in essence ethnopolitical and territorial in character. Seldom are religious bodies or institutions used to legitimize conflict behavior in this region - there has been no jihad in the Caucasus, for example - nor has the polarization of parties in a conflict been underpinned primarily by religious identity or theological perspectives. Furthermore, there has occurred no rallying of outside powers along religious lines; empirical evidence shows that religion has had little impact - especially when compared to ethnicity - in the international ramifications of these conflicts.
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