Publication

This paper discusses why even through Georgia's Pankisi Gorge appears not to have a significant level of radicalization going on at the local level, the region is producing large numbers of Islamic fighters who are engaged in conflict abroad. In attempting to find an answer to this question the author examines 1) the extent to which fighters from Pankisi play a leading role in the Islamist rebel groups in the Syrian civil war; 2) the role which Pankisi's martial culture, poverty, and a tradition of mercenary activity play in this phenomenon; and 3) how third countries with their Chechen diaspora communities may lead to the radicalization or recruitment of fighters from Pankisi Gorge.