The impact of radical religious organizations on central Asian security (1991-2012)

Central Asia, which has rich underground resources and is located in the Heartland region, has always been important on world politics. The Central Asian states, which have gained their independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, faced significant problems due to their inexperience in administrative and political fields. Among the main problems, the threat posed by the terrorist activities of the religious radical organizations, such as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Hizb'ut Tahrir, to national and regional security takes priority. When the structure and the policies of the regional states are examined, it is seen that the policy implementations put forward by the Central Asian states have a prominent effect in the stages of participation and mobilization of radical religious organizations which are evaluated under the structural factors. It is observed that in the post-Cold War period, the concept of security has deepened from national security to individual security on the one way, from national security to the security of international and supranational structures on the other way and expanded horizontally to include political, economic, environmental and social dimensions as well as military issues. The subject of this study has been evaluated within the scope of the deepening and expanding structure of security over different elements. It can be said that the terrorist activities carried out by religious radical organizations in Central Asian states constitute a threat not only in the military field but also in socio-economic and political terms. This multidimensional threat, which is effective in military, political, economic and social fields, has exceeded the national security level and gained a regional character, and has made international cooperation an imperative on the responsibility of providing security. In the face of this deepening and widening structure of security, it is seen that cooperations such as the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Collective Security Treaty Organization are formed within a narrow framework of state interests and thus become idle by failing to function. Taking advantage of the instability and fragility of the Central Asian states in the post-independence period, religious radical organizations have developed within the framework of an opposing focus against oppressive state policies, and have offered the public a source of purpose and belonging with the rhetoric that has shaped through religious elements such as martyrdom and jihad. They have also spend effort to create an attractive alternative by providing financial support. In this study, the structures, scope and impacts of the religious radical organizations which negatively affect Central Asian security through terrorist activities are evaluated within the scope of Sectoral Security and Regional Security Complexes under the context of Copenhagen School.