ABSTRACT. It currently seems unlikely that the “Islamic State” (IS) will spread its military activities to Central Asia in a similar way as in Iraq and Syria. The regional states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization have taken military precautions to prevent this from happening. At the same time, it is likely that IS will attempt to gradually extend its reach to Central Asia, which has traditionally been one of the key regions in the Islamic world for centuries. It is also possible that IS could try to compensate potential setbacks in Iraq or Syria by going underground in Central Asia. Respective activities of IS fighters have already been reported from the region. As a result, the states of Central Asia are now forced to intensively address the religious and political agenda of IS, along with the ideals advocated by other Salafist groups that have been active in the region for years. However, an effective and sustainable political prevention of IS will only be successful if the secular ruling elites in Central Asia allow the moderate majority of the Islamic groups in their countries to participate in the political process. pp. 112–119

Keywords: Islamic State; Central Asia; political prevention; war; terrorism; peace

How to cite: Seifert, Arne C. (2017), “Preventing the ‘Islamic State’ in Central Asia: Conditions, Risks, and Peace Policy Requirements,” Geopolitics, History, and International Relations 9(1): 112–119.

Received 24 April 2016 • Received in revised form 28 July 2016
Accepted 29 July 2016 • Available online 20 August 2016

doi:10.22381/GHIR9120175