An analysis of numerous scientific papers, legal acts, as well as media materials concerning methods of counteracting destructive ideology shows a tendency to increase the destructive activities of political, religious, nationalist and other criminal groups threatening society and the state.
Extremist, terrorist and other transnational criminal groups based around the Central Asian region pose a particular threat to the socio-economic well-being of the state and the spiritual and moral development of traditional society in Tajikistan and in the entire world community. As practice shows, their activities are aimed at destabilizing the socio-political and socio-economic situation of the state, destroying spiritual and moral values and unifying individuals, violating the unity and territorial integrity of the country and undermining its sovereignty.
According to the above mentioned context, in our view, countering the spread of destructive extremist ideology in society is a particularly urgent task not only for government agencies, but also for every individual.
With the development of communication technologies the destructive forces of society have new opportunities and tools to realize their interests. They have begun to actively exploit the information space, where they broadcast their ideology everywhere, creating content adapted to the target audience, thereby providing a complex, profound impact on the psyche of people.
In turn, destructive ideology is aimed at destroying and splitting existing social relations, social ties and institutions. It is an ideology that impedes the development and functioning of society, is often anti-state in nature and opposes the legal framework and the constitutional order of the country. Analysis shows that the distinctive features of the adherents of this ideology are an unconstructive assessment of the existing social reality, opposition of their ideas to the real state of affairs, compulsory implementation of their views, principles and social norms and deformation of the public consciousness, promotion of the appeal of an anti-social lifestyle, intolerance and use of violence against those who do not share their beliefs, etc.
If we look into world history, we can trace the growth of destructive-extremist activities to the 1990s, as well as the peak of development of modern globalization, and it is worth noting that these two trends are interconnected. On the one hand, the expansion of trade links, the formation of unified financial markets, transnational capital and information flows are positive indicators of the globalization process, but on the other hand, these factors increase the risks of illegal criminal activity by extremist and terrorist organizations, as well as the threat of uncontrolled financing of international terrorist networks.
Considering the spread of destructive ideology at a more local level, particularly in the Central Asian region, it is worth noting that this trend was a reflection of the changes taking place in society: the ideological crisis that followed the collapse of the USSR, the transition from communism to democracy, the lifting of strict control over the religious sphere and the formation of a world-view «vacuum» in the minds of the masses. In addition, the civil war that followed the proclamation of independence and caused an economic, socio-humanitarian and political crisis seriously undermined the integrity of the country’s educational system. Consequently, a lack of legal and political literacy, ignorance of one’s history, traditions and culture, imitation of values alien to our culture and superstition are favorable factors in the spread of destructive ideologies in society.
According to official statistics, Tajikistan had more than four million Internet users as of the first half of 2022, representing 42% of the population. The growing number of users, on the other hand, also poses some threats. Thus, according to official data, in 2022 Tajikistan recorded an increase in the number of cybercrimes to 17 cases. At the same time, the abundance of uncontrolled information in media space poses a threat of access to materials of a destructive and extremist nature. Young people are the most vulnerable group in society to be ideologically recruited by destructive forces. Owing to the above factors, as well as their incomplete readiness to adapt to conditions of rapidly developing globalization, young people become a convenient target for extremist and terrorist organizations.
The Government of the Republic of Tajikistan takes seriously the growing threat of the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes and implements policies in line with the changing nature of threats to national, regional and global security. At a more global level, the Republic of Tajikistan has initiated high-level conferences known among the international expert community as the «Dushanbe Process on Counter-Terrorism». In the aspect of the abovementioned issue, the Founder of Peace and National Unity — Leader of the Nation, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, distinguished Emomali Rahmon in his speech during the High Level International Conference on “International and Regional Border Security and Management Cooperation on to Counter Terrorism and Prevent Movement of Terrorist » which was held on 18 October 2022 in Dushanbe mentioned: «Terrorist groups are abusing this situation by expanding extremist activities, attracting more and more youth, encouraging and carrying out terrorist attacks, including through the use of information and communication technologies».
In this connection, the problem of ensuring information security occupies a special place in the policy of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan. It is our deep conviction that every citizen who is not indifferent to the sustainable future of our country should feel responsibility in this direction.
The state policy in the sphere of protection of the Tajik society from destructive influence of the information space is the Information Security Concept of the Republic of Tajikistan of November 7, 2003, where one of the four major components of the national interests of the country in the information sphere is the importance of preservation and strengthening of moral values of the society, traditions of patriotism and humanism. At the same time, in November 2016, Tajikistan was one of the first countries to adopt a Strategy for Countering Extremism and Terrorism, which has been extended for 2021-2025.
It is also worth noting that legal and regulatory work on preventing and countering destructive and extremist activities in the information field has been going on for a long time.
The results of such work are the adoption in 2002 of the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On Information”, which prohibits the use of information against the foundations of the constitutional order and state security, it is also prohibited to incite racial, national hatred, parochialism, religious and linguistic hatred, war, information calling for violence , terrorist and extremist activities, social enmity, encroachment on a person, rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen, as well as propaganda and advertising of an immoral and immoral lifestyle (pornography).
Separately, it is worth noting the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan «On the responsibility of parents for the education and upbringing of children», which obliges parents to control the targeted use of the Internet by a child, to prohibit reading, viewing and distributing (including through mobile phones) materials containing elements of violence, extremism and terrorism, as well as to educate the child in the spirit of respect for the Motherland, the law, national and universal values.
The Republic of Tajikistan is also working in the field of information security within the framework of regional structures such as the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Within the framework of the latter, the member states coordinate their positions on issues of ensuring international information security and managing the Internet on the basis of the established Group of Experts of the SCO Member States. As for the purely post-Soviet space, the CIS member countries signed the Agreement “On Cooperation of the Member States in the Field of Information Security”, according to which the parties develop and implement interstate programs that ensure the resolution of information security issues and exchange information on the work carried out in this area. Another, no less important document in the field of countering destructive ideology is the «Joint Position of the SCO RATS, the CIS ATC and the CSTO Secretariat on countering terrorism and extremism», declaring common approaches to countering international terrorism and extremism, support by the Parties of UN Security Council Resolution 2354 (2017) on countering the spread of terrorist ideas and implementing the requirements of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy to eliminate conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, prevent and combat it, as well as work to de-radicalize and eradicate the breeding ground for terrorism.
Tajikistan also advocates joining efforts to combat the above-mentioned threats at the international level and cooperates with international organisations such as the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, the International Criminal Police Organization, etc.
At the same time, the Central Asian states were the first on the world stage to adopt the Joint Action Plan for the implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
Thus, the above-mentioned factors once again testify to the great and significant role of the Republic of Tajikistan in ensuring regional security, international information security and countering extremism and terrorism at the national, regional and global levels.
Qadamova Manizha,
Specialist of the Department
regional security issues studies
CSR under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan
