Description
This paper analyses the process of deradicalisation at a collective level in terms of the transition from armed to unarmed group. This topic assumes a particular relevance due to the evident gap in the literature regarding this issue. In order to demonstrate this process, this research focuses on successful deradicalisation accomplished during the Tajikistan civil war (1992-1998), where the peace talks under the supervision of Russia, Uzbekistan, Iran and the United Nations arranged for the integration of representatives of the Islamic Revival Party (IRP) into government ministries – on the basis of a 30 percent quota – and more than 4,500 former militants were incorporated into the Tajik regular army. The case study of the IRP is unexplored; thus, the paper compares it to a well-known case such as the Algerian civil war (1991-2002), since it represents an interesting example of both successful – the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS) – and unsuccessful – the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) – deradicalisation attempts.
