A Resurgent Threat? Islamism in Central Asia since the Taliban Takeover

Abstract

The article discusses the danger of militant Islamism spreading to Central Asia from Afghanistan against the background of the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. It argues that although that danger has increased, the threat ultimately remains limited because the Taliban’s attention is on Afghanistan and more radical and transnational armed groups in Afghanistan, such as the Islamic State, have been weakened in recent years.