The Chechen community in Austria and other European countries is a relevant research subject in the study of Islamist radicalization and extremism. A focused examination of it will provide information on key aspects of jihadism, salafism, and the role of Russia for the Chechen diaspora in Europe – as well as connections among them.
To this end, DGAP, in cooperation with the Austrian Fund for the Documentation of Religiously Motivated Political Extremism (Dokumentationsstelle Politischer Islam), initiated a research project that shines a spotlight on Europe’s Chechen community. Through its exploration of different forms of radicalization and extremism, their origins and motivations, and the role played by transnational factors such as networking with Islamist organizations and home country politics, this project will be able to offer both short-term assessments of current events and long-term classifications, trend analyses, and evaluation.
