A Reflection on the Logic of the Development of Russia's Anti-Terrorism Discourse after September 11

Introduction: With the occurrence of the September 11, 2001, the activists of the international system inevitably turned to specific directions in dealing with the phenomenon of terrorism. In the meantime, the Russian Federation, as a powerful player in the eastern part of the international system, considered terrorism as a potential and actual threat to its national security. In addition, Russia is always worried about the spread and influence of terrorism and the dangers arising from it in the countries located in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Therefore, with a different reading of terrorism, Russia has proposed a kind of anti-terrorist discourse that suits its interests. Therefore, it is emphasized in this article, that Russia's view on terrorism, like other actors of the international system, is derived from the discourse procedures of this country in building itself and the other. On the one hand, Russia's anti-terrorism discourse constitutes Russia's motivations and interests in the fight against terrorism and on the other hand, it causes examples of terrorism to be represented in the foreign policy of this country and the presentation of an anti-terrorist policy in line with Russia's priorities.
Research question: This research, seeks to find an answer to the question, what factors caused the development and formation of Russia's anti-terrorism discourse after the September 11 incident?
Research hypothesis: In response to this question, the present research claims that after September 11, Russia's anti-terrorism discourse was developed and consolidated around the central idea of Radical Islamism and extremism, and led to Russia's intervention with the aim of providing national security in peripheral regions such as Central Asia and the Caucasus.
Methodology and theoretical framework: This article is done using the theoretical framework of discourse analysis of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe and its main components. The research method in the article is a combination of descriptive-analytical and causal approach, and the method of collecting research data is based on library and internet sources. This theoretical approach is applicable to communication studies such as political discourses, news analysis and other social communication topics. It can be used to examine a hegemonic discourse and a particular political discourse is shaped by different dominant political forces. In general, this theoretical model can be used to analyze broad issues related to discourse actions. Based on this, this discursive approach and its components have a high explanatory power for analyzing issues in social and political fields. In this article, the principles, and propositions of discourse analysis theory of Laclau and Mouffe are used to detail the field of Russian anti-terrorism discourse. The most important propositions used are: central sign, floating sign, articulation, sphere of discourse, antagonism and hostility. In this way, first, Russia's discursive system against terrorism has been articulated; Then, based on the discourse indicators in the Russian anti-terrorism discourse, an attempt has been made to examine the most important terrorist groups that have been identified by the Russian Federation and Russia's practical actions against these groups.
Results and discussion: The findings of this research indicate that Russia, along with the international system, after the September 11th incident, has faced the phenomenon of terrorism and based on its priorities and interests, it has started anti-terrorist discourse. Since September 11th, Russia has put the anti-terrorism policy on the agenda for many security reasons, including maintaining the security of the national borders and ensuring the security of the areas under its influence. Protecting the regions of Central Asia and the Caucasus against the risk of the spread and penetration of terrorism is considered one of Russia’s security priorities , because insecurity in these regions is a warning sign for Russia. In other words, these areas are considered as Russia’s gateway because there is a possibility of spreading any security challenges and tensions in these areas to the national borders of Russia. In addition, the Central Asian region as Russia's private life is of great importance for Russia due to security, economic reasons and shared historical and cultural background. In general, separatism as the main factor, along with factors such as radical Islamism, violent extremism and drug terrorism, constitute the discourse indicators of Russia's fight against terrorism, and since any discourse is bound to define "other" and "alienation" in order to continue its existence, therefore, based on its rhetorical signs in the fight against terrorism, Russia has introduced several xenophobic groups such as ISIS, Islamic Party of Uzbekistan and Caucasus Emirate Organization as terrorist groups, and its performance in dealing with these groups was explained in the context of this article.
Conclusion: The activities of Takfiri and Jihadi terrorist groups in the Middle East is a security threat for Russia because it causes the penetration of these groups in the regions under Russian influence, such as Central Asia and the Caucasus, and the emergence of drug terrorism and arms trafficking and endangers the security of Russia. The presence of separatist movements in the North Caucasus region is a cause of concern for Russia. From Russia's point of view, the existence of the Muslim minority in this region provides the basis for the activities of radical Islamists and Salafist ideas. Therefore, the Russian government has adopted a policy of cooperation with the countries of the Central Asian region to fight terrorism. Russia interprets the fight against these separatist movements and suppression of their movements as part of its global straggle against terrorism.