Building stability in the North Caucasus: ways forward for Russia and the European Union

Summary:

In this Policy Paper, Neil Melvin—a former head of SIPRI’s research programme on Armed Conflicts and Conflict Management—aims to correct misunderstandings by a careful historical account of the role of the North Caucasus in earlier Russian and Soviet imperial history and of the evolution of the Russian Government’s post-Soviet policies. He pays special attention to the Islamic strand in local resistance movements and in local society generally, showing that Russia’s Muslims have been divided among themselves almost as sharply as any other element in the North Caucasus community. He ends by presenting recommendations for urgent shifts in policy towards the North Caucasus, aimed at two sets of actors that can perhaps do the most good in the shortest time in this troubled region: the Russian Government and the European Union and its member states.

• Alternative Source 1