Chechen female suicide terrorism

Abstract

The protracted conflict between Chechnya and Russia ultimately led ethnic Chechen separatists to ally with Islamic jihadists at the turn of the 20th century. This thesis focuses on one product of this alliance: the emergence of female suicide terrorism (FST) in the first (1994–1996) and second (1999–2009) Chechen wars. Previously, the use of FST as a tactic had been confined to secular groups. In this thesis, factors that precipitated the rise of FST in Chechnya are explored. Despite the eventual alliance of Chechen separatists with Islamists, this thesis finds the factors that specifically apply to female suicide terrorism to be primarily secular. By identifying contributing factors in the Chechen case, this research provides a framework to identify conflicts in which a popular movement's tactics may escalate to terrorism and the employment of FST.