The“ Islamist” Conflict? : Religion and Politics in the Tajikistan Civil War

The 1997 peace agreement of the Tajik civil war gave the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) the opportunity to get legalized and obtain a small share of governmental power in the secular state.The present article aims to explain the unique ending of this war, making three interrelated points.First, the presence of much common ground, historical and social, led the conflict parties to agree to maintain the Tajik state and try to govern it jointly, without pursuing separatist alternatives.Second, the IRPT-led opposition prioritized not religious claims but the demand for a share of power for their regional footholds.This focus on the powersharing agenda reduced the obstacles to negotiation and compromise.Third, the negotiated outcome, tilted in favor of the incumbent government rather than the IRPT, reflected power asymmetry between the former firmly supported by Russia, and the latter with limited external support motivated by religious sympathy.