Golunov Sergei

№ 2, 2020

• Terrorist “Caliphate” as Quasi-State: Problem of Conceptualization

  The article attempts to conceptualize the “caliphate” created by the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) through the lenses of the phenomenon of an unrecognized state. Comparing the “caliphate” with the bulk of the unrecognized states that exist today, the author focuses on the territorial identity of the “caliphate” of the Islamic State, the role of the military factor in its formation, the peculiarities of its domestic policy and the specifics of its relations with the outside world.

  The author’s analysis shows that the “caliphate” of the Islamic State represents an entity that is in many ways unique to the modern system of international relations. Unlike other unrecognized states, it did not seek integration into the international community and openly challenged this com- munity, encroaching on the inviolability of state borders, organizing terrorist attacks abroad and explicitly ignoring generally accepted humanitarian norms. Rejecting the model of the nation-state, the “caliphate” refused to identify itself with the actually controlled territory. Not only did it fail to make efforts to create a civil nation out of its population, but it also emphasized its “Islamic cosmopolitanism”. Throughout the short history of its existence, its trajectory of state-building was largely determined by militarization and radical Islamist ideology. At the same time, similarly to other unrecognized states, the “caliphate” had to solve a wide range of problems related to the organization of management in the controlled territories and mitigation of the consequences of the lack of international recognition.

  DOI: 10.30570/2078-5089-2020-97-2-87-103

  Pages: 87-103