Non-state actors in the middle east: Towards a new typology

The latest developments in world politics have invariably shown the growing role of non-state actors (NSAs) in international affairs. Although this factor has drawn increased attention in both academic discourse and applied research, problems related to NSA typology remain unclarified. The present paper analyzes existing approaches to the categorization of various NSAs operating in the global political arena and proves that the available classifications of NSAs fail to represent present-day political realities, particularly in the Middle East. Proceeding from Phillip Taylor’s renowned classification of NSAs, the authors offer a new approach to differentiating NSAs acting in the Middle East, and suggest using such criteria as their relation to the state in terms of functions, state orientation, objectives, and system of management. For reasons of space, the present paper does not discuss the funding of NSAs’ operations and the extent to which they resort to violence in their activities

On the issue of classification of non-state actors in the middle east

Agreeing with researchers who consider the expansion of non-state actors’ influence in world politics a common widespread tendency, the authors investigate existing approaches to NSA categorization and underline certain characteristics of these approaches. Firstly, non-state actors are researched apophatically, negatively, as structures characterized solely as not being actual states and governments. Secondly, NSA are defined as bodies acting only in the international context. Last but not least, they must have formalized structures and clearly set goals. The authors conclude that existing categorizations generally fail to represent the empirical reality that researchers of Middle Eastern issues see regularly. The authors use P. Taylor’s renowned method to create their own typology, including new criteria, such as: functional correlation between non-state actors and states, allowing to distinguish between suprastate, alterstate and substate actors; actors’ orientation towards state, allowing to divide them into statecentric and geocentric ones; their goals, either universal or specific; administration systems that may have different grades of formalization and centralization. Meanwhile, such criteria are viewed as practical actions and the level of violence used by non-state actors – as superficial. Researching each parameter, the authors give examples of various NSA functioning in the Middle East. The article is concluded by a categorizing table which includes specific examples of Middle Eastern non-state actors

Militant Islam in Central Asia: The Case of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan

This paper examines the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), one of the three key Islamic groups active in Central Asia. The IMU is a militant and extremist Islamic organization, one that has been listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organization. It has been linked to terrorist activity and to the attempted overthrow of Uzbek President Islam Karimov. This paper discusses the roots and causes of Islamic radicalism in general; clarifies the terms "Salafism" and "Wahhabism"; and examines violence as culture. In discussing the emergence of radical Islam (Islamism) in Uzbekistan, the author covers Salafism in Central Asia; the early Salafi ideologists; specific teachers and their disciples; and Uzbek militants abroad, in such places as Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In describing the rise of the IMU, the paper presents the IMU's early activities; the February 1999 terrorist bombings in Tashkent; terrorist networks in Central Asia; the conviction of the leaders of the Erk political party for terrorist acts; and regional and clan rivalries. In discussing trans-border violence, the paper covers the fighting in Tajikistan in 1999; the hostage taking in Kyrgyzstan in 1999; and the IMU's adventures in Tajikistan and Afghanistan in 1999-2000. The author goes on to discuss the ideology of the IMU, first reviewing the roots of radical Islamic organizations in the Ferghana Valley and then examining "Lessons of Jihad," which is reportedly a document of the IMU that discusses the stages and objectives of jihad. The author then discusses the IMU after September 11, 2001, including its possible connections to the Taliban and to the Al Qaeda network. This analysis of the IMU concludes with a number of empirical and theoretical insights into the nature of organized extremism in Central Asia: that Islamic militancy is likely to persist in Central Asia; how no single theory is satisfactory to explain the phenomenon; how external factors play a role in Islamist mobilization in the region; how organized crime and political extremism are essential components for these groups; how Uzbek President Karimov's repression of ordinary Muslims is counterproductive in the struggle against Islamists; and finally, that printed materials are not of primary importance in the recruitment of members of supporters