Sometimes temporary last forever

ARTICLE: Chechen leader imposes strict brand of Islam, AP, February 28, 2009

This is a version of Russia cutting a cultural enclave deal with their own Muslims. Unable to thoroughly tame this "badland" by force and incapable of serious economic integration, Moscow--in effect--gives up and pulls a FATA-like arrangement: if you stop being a problem for us, we'll let you enclave your population with rules we'd never allow in our own system.

This is--as always--a temporizing solution. It's just that sometimes the "temporary" goes on forever.

(Thanks: Craig Nordin)

Comments

[Yankee Sailor]

To merge with your metaphor of integration as the "Wild West", it sounds like Russia's buying into a reservation system. Ditto for Pakistan and their tribal areas. I wonder if China might also give the idea a hard look for their Tibetan and Uighur minorities, and maybe even Taiwan. They've already accepted the "one country, two systems" idea with Hong Kong.