Edward Lemon
Edward Lemon is the DMGS-Kennan Institute Fellow, Daniel Morgan Graduate School in Washington DC. His research examines security, Islam, migration and politics in Tajikistan and Eurasia.
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Articles by Edward Lemon
Tajikistan’s Crackdown in the Pamirs: Causes and Implications
The second half of May saw the worst violence in the Pamir Mountain region of Tajikistan since the end of the civil war in 1997. At least 40 people have
Tajikistan Breaks From Neighbors in Policy Toward Afghanistan
Confronted with the new Taliban government in Afghanistan, adjacent Tajikistan has broken from its Central Asian neighbors, which have largely adopted a conciliatory posture, and opted for a more confrontational
A Thaw Between Tajikistan and Iran, But Challenges Remain
“Welcome to your second homeland,” President Emomali Rahmon told his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani upon his arrival in Tajikistan for the fifth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence
The Transformation of the Uzbek-Tajik Relationship
On March 9, Shavkat Mirziyoyev landed at Dushanbe airport, the first president of Uzbekistan to conduct a state visit to Tajikistan since 2000. Embraced by his local counterpart, President Emomali
In Effort to Combat Extremism, Tajikistan’s Government Places Further Restrictions on What People Can Wear
In early September, six million mobile phone users in Tajikistan received text messages telling them to “respect traditional clothes” and “make it a tradition to wear traditional clothes.” The messages,
CIS Anti-Terrorism Center Holds First Military Exercises in Tajikistan
On May 30, troops from Russia and Tajikistan launched Dushanbe-Anti-Terror-2017—the final stage of a six-part exercise held in six different countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Belarus, which began on
To Afghanistan Not Syria? Islamic State Diverts Tajik Fighters South
In February, the Iranian government extradited five members of the same family originating from Hamadoni district, in southern Tajikistan, back to their home country (Radio Ozodi, March 2). Abdulfayz Vazirov,
A Profile of Gulmurod Halimov: Islamic State’s New Minister of War
According to Iraqi media outlets citing unnamed security officials, in early September Islamic State (IS) appointed the former commander of Tajikistan’s paramilitary police (OMON), Gulmurod Halimov, to the position of
Tajikistan’s Government Uses Recent Violence to Neutralize Opposition
On September 4, a group of armed men linked to former Deputy Defense Minister Abduhalim Nazarzoda attacked police checkpoints in Dushanbe and Vahdat. Nazarzoda and his followers fled to the
Tajikistan Bans Leading Opposition Party
Following years of pressure, the government of Tajikistan has finally banned the Islamic Renaissance Party (IRPT), the region’s only faith-based party. In an August 28 statement, the Ministry of Justice
Tajikistan’s Counter-Productive Campaign Against Terrorism
In May 2015, missing Tajikistan police commander Colonel Gulmurod Halimov appeared in an Islamic State video to announce his defection to the group. While his defection caused embarrassment in Tajikistan’s
The Taliban and Islamic State Haunt Tajikistan
The specter of a spill-over of violence from Afghanistan continues to haunt Tajikistan. According to the narrative being put forward by the Russian and Tajikistani governments, the Taliban is strengthening
Tajik Government Hypes the Islamic State Threat, Uses it to Control Population
The government of Tajikistan has long sustained a shaky narrative purporting that Central Asia is in imminent danger of being overrun by militant forces. Long menaced by the specter of
A Brief Glimpse of Tajik Militants Fighting in the Ranks of the Islamic State
Militants from Tajikistan have travelled to Syria and Iraq in a steady trickle to join the Islamic State. Estimates of the number of Tajiks fighting there vary widely. Even the