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This paper describes the ethnopolitical conflict between Russia and Chechnya, and explores the causes of the war and violence between these two nations that started in the early 1800s and continues today. The accurate analysis of conflict is important for a number of reasons, but above all, because without its accurate diagnosis, suggestions for successful resolution would practically be impossible. The Russo-Chechen conflict is one of the most long-lasting ethnopolitical conflicts in the world. Its over two hundred years of history is replete with violence and atrocities that escalated and deescalated this conflict from time to time. Many books and articles are written about this conflict to explain its origins and causes relating to one or more of the factors of nationalism, religion, interests, and geopolitics. This paper, however, employs a multidimensional approach to its analysis by employing a number of theories of conflict and violence without specifying priority to any causal factors as it is impossible to weigh the causative factors to identify the hierarchical interrelationship among them. This paper argues that a multidimensional and multilevel approach to conflict analysis is needed to understand root causes of complex conflict correctly that is important for making effective policies of conflict resolution. 

 

Key words: conflict, theory, analysis, Russia, Chechnya

 

Ali Askerov teaches conflict resolution at University of Winnipeg.

 

Cite this article:
Askerov Ali . A Multidimensional Approach to Conflict Analysis: The Russo-Chechen Conflict . Innovative Issues and Approaches in Social Sciences, vol.1, no.3:63-83, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.12959/issn.1855-0541.IIASS-2008-no3-art03

Digital Object Identifier(DOI): http://dx.doi.org/10.12959/issn.1855-0541.IIASS-2008-no3-art03

View full text in pdf: http://www.iiass.com/pdf/IIASS-2008-no3-art03.pdf