Insurgency Success Factors and Rebel Legitimacy
2002 to 2004 Chechen insurgents launched seven deadly terrorist attacks, further securing their
terrorism title and further alienating international sympathy 173.
The ideological shift in the international community from one of humanitarianism, global
peace and supporting development of national identities shifted to one of fear, survival, and
alienation of perceived Islamic threats 174. These perceptions contributed to reducing the
legitimacy of the movement, that became looped in with the harsh, often dehumanizing
perception of Islamic extremism. These perceptions greatly impacted the rebellion's access to
international political space, diplomatic channels, and resources. Stricter laws in the U.S. and EU
against terrorist organizations, reduced avenues through which assistance could be provided in
Chechnya¹75. The rebellion's failure to distance itself from growing international perceptions of
Islamic terrorism substantially reduced their legitimacy in the eyes of the international
community. By 2002, Chechen separatists were recognized by the UN, U.S., and several other
states across Europe as a designated terrorist organization 176. The formal recognition of terrorism
severed the rebel group from opportunities of negotiation, diplomacy, and foreign assistance
through international institutions and many foreign states. As a result, rebel actors found
themselves cut off from the ability to develop economic relations, obtain resources and materials,
and voice ideological and humanitarian needs in formal diplomatic platforms 177.
Foreign Islamic actors have also played a significant role in influencing the Chechen
rebellion's ideological path. Moshe Grammer (2008) found that the lack of Islamic schools in
Chechnya, due to resource restrains and anti-Islamic policies from the Russian Federation, led
many Muslim Chechens to seek Islamic schooling abroad. These schools exposed the younger
Chechen population to Wahhabi theories of Islam, that were easily incorporated into the case of
Chechnya, where war against a perceived foreign oppressor had been waged for decades 178.
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