CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION: CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Abstract

Securitization of religion, or consideration of religion within the context of the security sector, has returned to the Slovak and Serbian context in connection with the migration crisis. This paper is mostly theoretical, and the question of religious identity is categorized under the sector of societal security. Unlike other conflicts of identity, religion is polarizing, and religious conflicts feature the destruction of cultural heritage and religious monuments. Religious conflicts can be observed among both believers of different religious groups as well as among different denominations of one particular religion. The last section deals with the particular cases of Artsakh and Northern Ireland. In the former conflict, nationalism and overlapping territorial claims play a key role, but the latter conflict can be better understood as a hierarchical ethnic conflict.

Full text

ANALYSES 405
Rastislav Kazansky1 Overview paper
Matej Bel University https://doi.org/10.54561/prj1502405k
Slovakia Date received: March 15, 2021
Date accepted: June 17, 2021
DarkoTrifunović2
University of Belgrade
Serbia
CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION:
CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND
Abstract
Securitization of religion, or consideration of religion within the context of
the security sector, has returned to the Slovak and Serbian context in connec-
tion with the migration crisis.This paper is mostly theoretical, and the question
of religious identity is categorized under the sector of societal security.Unlike
other conicts of identity, religion is polarizing, and religious conicts feature the
destruction of cultural heritage and religious monuments.Religious conicts can
be observed among both believers ofdierent religious groups as well as among
dierent denominations of one particular religion. The last section deals with
the particular cases of Artsakh and Northern Ireland.In the former conict, na-
tionalismand overlapping territorial claims play akey role, but the latter conict
can be better understood asahierarchicalethnic conict.
Keywords:religion,securitization,fundamentalism,Artsakh, Northern Ire-
land
Introduction
The issue ofsecuritization of religion, i.e. the perception of religion orreli-
gious dierences as a security problem, mayno longer be completely relevantin
theregion of Central Europe, but more so inother regions of the world. Espe-
cially in the Middle East, for example, the issue of religion began to be perceived
through a security prism. Inprinciple, the issue of securitization can be perceived
1 Rastisl av Kazanský is Asso ciate Professor and the H ead of the Departme nt of Security Studi es at the Faculty of Politic al Science
and International Relations of UMB in Banská Bystrica (Slovakia). He is professionally involved in pedagogical and scientific
research ac tivities within the Geopolitical The ories, Geopolitics of Central European Re gion, Security Policy - Conflict Theory,
Peace and Conflict Studies. Contact E-mail: rastislav.kazansky@umb.sk
2 Darko Trifunovic is a founding member and Director of the Institute for National and International Security. He also serves
as the editor- in-chief of the Security Science Journal. He was elected as a Guest Professor at FUDAN University – Center of
American Studies (China), Adjunct Profes sor of Shanghai Academy of Social S cience, Coordinator for Researc h, Guest Profesor
Matej Bel Univer sity, Faculty of Political Sci ence (Slovakia) and Senior Researche r at Bar-Ilan University (Israel ). Finally, he also
holds a positi on of a Research Associate Profes sor at the Faculty of Securi ty Studies – Universit y of Belgrade. Contact v E-mail:
galileja@yahoo.com
© 2021 Authors. Center for Study of Religion and Religious Tolerance, Belgrade, Serbia.This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

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406 АНАЛИЗЕ
across two basic levels.In therst level, the feeling of the threat comes fromcon-
tact withanother religious group, which they present as a threat.The second
threat can be perceived less specically, in the form of, for example, the decline
of religion as a threat. In addition to the question of the moral decline of society,
the fear of losing the inuence of the clergy can also be perceived.
It is also necessary to distinguish between situations involving conicts
withina large religious group between dierent denominations (such as Catho-
lics andProtestants or SunnisandShiites), versus aconictinvolvingdierent re-
ligious groups (such as Buddhists andHindus or Jews andMuslims). Our work will
be mainly theoretical and based on thework of B.BuzanandL.Hofreiter. It will
be supplemented predominantly byexamples fromthe Middle East region.We
will focus in more detail on two specic conicts,namelyArtsahkresp.Nagorno-
Karabakh and Northern Ireland as case studies.We will primarily use a descriptive
and analytical method, and we will try to identify scenarios, circumstances,
and situations where religion becomes a matter of security. To understand
the relation between religion and security, it is essential to initially understand
Security Science.3
The work will be divided into ve main section.In therst section, we look
at the problem from atheoretical point of view andat the perception of the se-
curitization of religion withinthe security sectors.In thesecond section, we will
deal with conicts within religions, looking at conicts within. Thethird section
will deal withconicts between religions.The fourth section will be devoted to
religious fundamentalism, its characteristics, andits inuence on the securitiza-
tion of religion as such.Inthis section, we will focus in more detail on Islamic
fundamentalism, as this is the most current problem interms of the securitiza-
tion of religion facing Western Europe.Finally, the fth section will be devoted to
two current conicts - Nagorno-Karabakh andNorthern Ireland, which to some
extent prole themselves as religious conicts.
Securitization of religion as part of the social security sector
Prosperity, development, and sustainable growth of living standards have
never in the past been as strongly dependent on the level of security of the state
and citizens as they are today in the current interconnected and rapidly chang-
ing globalized world. Ensuring security in such a dicult to predict world signi-
cantly inuences and complicates the emergence of new, especially asymmetric
security threats and the emergence of new conicts caused mainly by ethnic and
religious intolerance, fundamentalism, and radicalism and the spread of these
factors.4
3 Branislav Todorovic and Darko Trifunović, Security Science as a Scientific Discipline - Technological Aspects, Security Science
Journal, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2020.
4 Radoslav Ivančík and Pavel Nečas, Towards Enhanced Security: Defence Expenditures in the Member States of the European

ANALYSES 407
Rastislav Kazansky, Darko Trifunović, CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION:
CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND • pp(405-427)
Religion has not escaped the topic of securitization either.Withinthe theory
of security studies, the issue of securitization of religion is classied under the
social security sector (social securit y), which, certainly should not be confused
with thetermsocial security. Social security deals more with the mechanisms of
economic security of individuals who nd themselves in adicult life situation
and in the welfare state5.
It is, therefore, a matter ofperceivingsocialsecurity interms of problems re-
lating to theprotection andmaintenance of identity andits elements.These can
be, for example, language, culture6, customs, or religion.7 Theresultingthreatsare
not usually of a classic, armed form. They are more oftenminor, creeping threats
that are easily overlooked when addressing security issues.
 Depending on what is the basic element of the identity of a particular
nation’s group, this element is given a dierent degree of severity.France, for
example, isvery concerned with the promotion of English as a world language,
whileLatvia, with great caution, follows the dierent population dynamics of
the Latvian nation andRussia as a lingual minority. While inthe Netherlands
already present religious’ aliation is not decisive, but it is the backbone of
the cultural identity of countries such as Bhutan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.These
countries will therefore be concerned about the weakening of religious faith
andidentity.It is the element of religious identity that is becoming increasingly
important again.
Religious nationalism is currently displacing secular nationalism or ques-
tions of ideology. Owner-orientedanti-secularistic,anti-universaland if it is not
aChristian movement, as well as anti-Western.8 Thus, many societies around the
world are once again placing their main emphasis on their religious identity.Re-
ligion is the mainstay of identity, especially inthe Middle East.
The structure of loyalty in the Middle East can be characterized as one
that is opposite to theWestern world.In the West, the most intense loyalty is
felt to thenation-state. At a lower level is regional loyalty or loyalty beyond the
nation-state.In Islamic society, this structure is exactly the opposite.One feels
the most intense loyalty to a clan andtribe, andthen identies with theMuslim
world andculture as such.The nation-state is inthe last placeinthis hierarchy.9
Union, Journal of Securit y and Sustainability Issues, Vol. 6, No. 3, 2017, pp. 373-382.
5 “Church Leaders Explore Ways To Slow Christian Exodus From the Middle East”, Archdiocese of Baltimore, Catholic Review,
January 19, 2012. Available at: https://www.archbalt.org/church-leaders-explore-ways-to-slow-christian-exodus-from-middle-
east/ (accessed Febr uary 26, 2021).
6 Štepán Kava n, Šárka Kročová, Jiří Pokor ný, Assessment of the Read iness and Resilience of C zech Societ y against Water‐Related
Crises, Hydrology, Vol. 8, No. 1, 2021, pp. 1-17.
7 Ladislav Ho freiter, Securitology, Academy of the Armed Force s of General Milana Rasti slav Štefánik, Lip tovský Mikuláš, 2006, p.
12.
8 Samuel P. Huntington, Střet civilizací (orig . The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order), Rybka Publishers, Praha,
2001, p. 22.
9 Ibidem, p. 23.

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This may explain political weakness andinstability in theMuslim world, as tribal
andclan loyalty is a majordisintegratinganddestabilizing factor, while loyalty
to theummah, which has no leadership withauthority, cannot materialize into a
stabilizing force.
Regardless of what the basic element is of the identity of the nation,group,
or society, whether dened based on language, religion, statehood, or other-
wise, the following factors are usually perceived as threats from thepointofview
ofsocialsecurity:
• Migration: whereas the inux of a signicant number of people with
adierent identity should jeopardize traditional homogeneity andpopulation
structure.10 This fear, therefore, means fear of being overwhelmed byincoming
migrants.
• Cultural imperialism: penetrating the cultural and linguistic inuence
of other countries andtaking over foreign inuences (often referred to asMc-
Donaldization or Cocacolization).11 As in thecase of migration, a threat to do-
mestic culture is felt, but it is not accompanied by the arrival of a dierent popu-
lation. Rather it comes from within the media andglobalization.
• Disruption of the sense of belonging: that is, the loss of a sense of belong-
ing to agiven community
• Demographic challenges: in particular declining birth rates, but this may
also be associated withhigh emigration.12
If we read the points above again, we realize that these terms are often
usedinour conditions by nationalist parties, which reject a fundamental change
in character insociety, whether with the arrival of people with adierent culture
or cultural globalization. 
If we look at religion as a key element of the identity of a given community,
then, it is not dicult to perceive migration as a problem thatreligious authori-
ties will talk about.Especially in thecase of the emigration of minority groups,
this is a problem that religious authorities often discuss. For example, repre-
sentatives of Christian churches in the Middle East.13 It can also be a problem
ifmembers of one religion move to places andareas where members of another
religion traditionally live.An example would be the traditionally Christian town
ofBartellain Iraq, where after 2003, Shiite Sabac peoples began to move in larger
10 Ladislav Hofr eiter, Securitology, Academy of the Armed Forces of G eneral Milana Rastislav Štefánik, Liptovský M ikuláš, 2006, p.
17.
11 Ibidem.
12 Ibidem, p. 18.
13 „Church Leaders Explore Ways To Slow Christian Exodus From the Middle East“, Archdiocese of Baltimore, Catholic Review,
January 19, 2012. Available at: https://www.archbalt.org/church-leaders-explore-ways-to-slow-christian-exodus-from-middle-
east/ (accessed Februa ry 26, 2021).

ANALYSES 409
Rastislav Kazansky, Darko Trifunović, CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION:
CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND • pp(405-427)
quantitieswhich the native Christian Assyrians perceived withdispleasure. 14 In
thecase of the second point, ie the penetration of foreign inuences, religious
leaders oppose it, perceiving it as a threat to traditional values.New cultural
andsocial patterns are often referred to as bankruptcies, leading to the collapse
of civilization.Part of this rhetoric can already be observed in Slovakia.15 Thiscan
be discussed more in thecase of countries with anocially recognized state re-
ligion, especially in thecase of Islam. 
The specicity of religion in meetings of collective identities lies intheirin-
compatibility.16However, unlike other elements of identity, religious aliation is
polarizing.One can be Scottish andBritishat the same time, one can feel loyal
to Siena or toTuscany as a region, can be an Italian citizen, andat the same
time have a European consciousness.In some cases, he mayeven be able to
have thecitizenship of several states.However, he cannot be a Buddhist and
aChristian at the same time, he cannot be a devotee of Hinduism andIslamat
the same time.17
We can perceive religious identity onthree levels: rstly, through theself-
identication of theindividual; secondly, through theself-declaration of thein-
dividual; andthirdly, as the assignment of the individual to agiven group byex-
ternal observers.18 If we take a closer look, we see thatself-identicationis more
of an internal identication that does not have to be presented externally.Self-
declaration,on the other hand, can be perceived more as akind of public regis-
tration for agiven group. This can be whether it is, for example, theticking of a
box in the census form; however,on thethird level, we are talking more abouta
kind of “boxing” of an individual by someone else. 
Religious identity is much more pronounced in the territories thatwere for-
merly part of the Ottoman Empire.Due to religious heterogeneity, each group
(Muslims, Orthodox, Jews...) had its internal autonomy in theform of a system
of millets, especially inmatters of culture andfamily law.In the weakening of
central power, the loyalty of the subjects began to be associated withreligious
aliation, which just encouraged sectarian thinking.19 The idea of belonging
to a religious community thus becomes an alternative, often localized, to
the centralized identity of the Ottoman citizen. In the case of their clash,
however, the compromise is much more complicated than in thecase of, say,
14 Dave Van Zoonen and Khog ir Wirya, “The Shabak s: Perceptions of Reconci liation and Conflict ”, Middle East Rese arch Institute,
August 9, 2017. Available at: http://www.meri-k.org/publication/the-shabaks-perceptions-of-reconciliation-and-conict/
(accessed Februar y 26, 2021).
15 “Slovak Conventio n on the Family”, official website: http://slovenskydohovorzarodinu.sk (access ed February 26, 2021).
16 Ľubomír Ľupták, “Religious extremism, securitization of religion, clashes of identities”, in: Global Security Panorama, 2005-
2006, Depar tment of Securit y and Defense Policy o f the Ministry of Def ense of the Slovak Republic, B ratislava, 2006, p. 312.
17 Ladislav Hofreiter, Theory and Resolution of Conicts, Academy of the Armed Forces of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik,
Liptovský Mi kuláš, 2008, p. 62.
18 Ibidem, p. 63.
19 Roger Scr uton, The West and Others: Globalization and the Terrorist Threat, Bar rister & Principal, Brn o, 2016, p. 29.

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410 АНАЛИЗЕ
theTuscanandLombard identities. 
Religious doctrines claim “theexclusive right to dene what is good, what
is evil, what is justice, andwhat is injustice, what is right andwrong. Religions
claim exclusivity for a clear interpretation of the truth”20. It is this claim to the
exclusivity that has thepotential for conict. That is if the representatives of one
religion consider it to be the only “correct” andrevealed truth andthe same is
proclaimed by the representatives of the religion of another. Then it is not pos-
sible to agree on a compromise.At the same time, both cannot be right, and if
they waived their claims to exclusivity, their moral authority would decline.Here
we see the reason why the parties inreligious conicts are much moreuncom-
promisingthan in thecase of other types of conicts,namely that the subject
matter of the dispute is indivisible.
Conicts within religions
Even withinthe individual major religious currents, we nd conicts be-
tween individual directions or currents.Insuch a case, it is often adispute as to
who represents the “true” interpretation of the faith with each of thedenomina-
tions considering themselves true successors of the religious tradition, while the
other denominations are often referred to asheretical.21
The great hostility lies in the details “Subtle dierences are always much
more important in determining membership than dierences are great pre-
cisely because they allow for comparison.A man whose religion diers from
my small article or dicult gesture is not a believer in other deities, but ablas-
phemeragainst mine”22. Thus, they automatically become the object of enmity
because they bring wrong thoughts that threaten the “truth.”
In thecase of early Judaism, we can consider the relationship between Jews
and Samaritans to be this type of conict. While the Jews worshiped God in
thetempleatJerusalem, the Samaritans had their place of prayer on MountGeri-
zim.At the turn of the century, there was also a tension between the Pharisees
and theSadduceeswithin Judaism itself.
We currently rank among the mainstream Judaism Orthodox, Conserva-
tive, Reformed, andReconstructionistJews.23 Another relatively visible branch
in modern Judaism is the so-called ultra-Orthodox or Charedim Jews who
strictly observe theprovisions of theTorah.Given their high birth rates, their
share of Israel›s population is likely to increase. However, given that they have an
exemption fromcompulsory military service, we can expect growing tensions
20 Hof reiter, Ladislav, Theory and Resolution of Conicts… p. 52.
21 Heretics: or iginally the name of a dualistic s ect in the south of France i n the Middle Ages. Originall y from the word catharos =
pure; later, especially in connection with the Inquisition, any theological idea against C atholic teaching was called heretical.
22 Roger S cruton, The West and Others: Globalizatio n and the Terrorist Threat… p. 74.
23 Ladi slav Hofreiter, Theory and Resolution of Conicts… p. 62.

ANALYSES 411
Rastislav Kazansky, Darko Trifunović, CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION:
CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND • pp(405-427)
between them and therest of Israeli society. 
Conicts within Christianity were also historically signicant.At thetime of the
migration of nations, the controversy ofArianismcaused great problems.Ariuswas
an Egyptian priest who denied the doctrine of theTrinity;his interpretation of
Christianity was immediately adopted by many Germanic tribes at thetime of the
migration of nations, especially theGothsand theVandals.The distance between
the native CatholicIbero-Romanesquepopulation and theVisigothicconquerors
professingArianismwas resolved by accepting the religion of their subjects.On
the other hand, the Vandals, whose empire was located mainly in present-day
Tunisia, embarked on a violent promotion of their version of Christianity. 
Early Christianity was increasingly plagued by theological disputes andcon-
tradictions.Chalcedoncouncil inthe year 451 brought the church split.24 “The
emperor considered that this document was to unite the western andeastern
parts of the empire.However, the confession turned out to be dynamite rath-
er than putty”25.On one side stood the future Catholic andOrthodox Church,
and on the other was a group ofOrientalOrthodox churches which consisted
ofCoptsinEgypt, Armenia, part of the Syrians, andEthiopians.“Centuries later
after theCouncil ofChalcedon, the Eastern Church was occupied with a dispute
over theperson of Jesus Christ.”26The Byzantine emperors sought to enforce
a single Christological denition throughout the empire and were willing to
compromiseinthis regard,but seeing that when it didn›t work, they decided
toessentially force the «Greek» notion of the rest of the empire.After years of re-
pression, thedomestic “Christian population of Syria, Palestine, andEgypt, which
survived the years of persecution by Istanbul, welcomed the Arabs as liberators”27.
This meant that the Arab conquests inthe region took place relatively quickly
andwithout signicant resistance.
The Arabs brought Islam with them, but it was soon divided into three
major currents:Sunni,Shiite, andSharjah.The rivalry betweenSunni andShi-
iteIslam still shapes the dynamics of relations in the Middle East.“The major
impact, however, had a conict, which broke out after right after the prophet’s
death inthe year 632”28. The Sunnis wereconsidered the true successors along
the line from AbuBakr; however,the ShiitessupportedAli.TheKhalidas, whose
only surviving branch today is Ibaditi, especially in Oman, and some oases
inNorth Africa, considered by locals as God’s rightful successor andnot necessar-
ily fromtheQurayshtribeor the Arab.29
24 The Chalcedo n council did not specif y any precise norm ative Christology; r ather, it set the limits withi n which it was to move. It
based his conc lusions mainly in contrast t o the then widespread here sies of Areius, Apollinarius , Nestorius and Eutych us .
25 Thomas Lane, History of Christia n Thought, Návrat domů, Praha, 1999, p. 61.
26 Ib idem, p. 62.
27 T homas Haywood, Encyclopedia o f World History Atlas of World History, Bravebook, Londo n, 2016, p. 162.
28 Ladislav Hofreiter, Theory and Resolution of Conicts, Academy of the Armed Forces of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik,
Liptovský Mi kuláš, 2008, p. 75.
29 Jana Dr ozdíková, Lexicon of Islam, Kalligram, Bratislava, 2005, p. 32.

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412 АНАЛИЗЕ
The conict betweenSunniandShiitebelievers iscurrently the main cause
of the civil war inYemen, withShiiteinsurgents in thenorthwest being supported
by the theocraticShiiteregime inIran, whileSunnifactions arestronglysupport-
ed by Saudi Arabia. Similarly, we can see the war inSyria as a war ofrepresenta-
tion betweenShiiteIran and theShiiteHezbollahmilitiasupporting government
forces on the one hand andSunni militias supported by Saudi Arabia, Turkey
andtheGulfcountrieson the other.SunniandShiitedisputes alsosignicantly
aect the dynamics of Iraqi politics.SaddamHusseinwas aSunniArab andop-
pressed theShiitepopulation in the south of the country.
Conictswithin Christianity continued after the rise of Islam, even though
the victorious Muslims conquered the entire Middle East andNorth Africa as
far as the Pyrenees.TheGreat Schism occurred in 1054 when the Catholic West
and theOrthodox East of Christianity separated.The conict between the two
denominations was observed during the Fourth Crusade when the Venetians
conquered Constantinople andfounded the Latin Empire. The Greeks later mas-
sacred Italian buyers.Inmodern times, discrepancies between Catholics andOr-
thodox can be seen inPolish-Russian antagonism, or at the end of the twentieth
century in thestruggles between Catholic Croats andOrthodox Serbs.
Luther’s, and later Calvin’s, reformationbrought a new division into West-
ern Christianity.Protestantism, based on theteachings of Martin Luther, brought
about a split in Western Christianity, withProtestantism favored by the Scandi-
navian countries and theBaltics, as wellas much of central andnorthern Ger-
many. Calvinism was less successful, but it managed to appeal mainly to the
Scots, the Dutch, half the Swiss, andsome French andHungarians.“The three
main denominations, withmore and more, focused on the precise andintricate
denition of their faith, andwasted their energy on quarrels with each other”30.
The religious division of Central Europe and theconictsresultingfromit
sought to overcome the Peace of Augsburgin 1555, but the conict between
Catholics andProtestants broke out againin 1618 in theThirty Years’ War hitting
Germany in particular.Religious non-murder between Catholics andHuguenots,
adherents of Calvinism in France, ended withBartholomew’s Night when Hu-
guenots were the target of massacres.Gradually, however,the idea of religious
pluralism began to be accepted within the European continent, andgradually
with the rise of nationalism, the question of religious aliation slowly came to
the fore. 
It should be noted, however, that not all conicts within the world’s religions
have been between members of individual denominations.For example, atpre-
sent,within Islam, there is also a conict between its moderate andradical inter-
pretation, which is embodied by several terrorist groups or militia.This internal
conict aected almost all Muslim communities anddid not lead to the emer-
30 Thomas Lane, History o f Christian Thought, Návrat domů, Praha, 1999, p. 135.

ANALYSES 413
Rastislav Kazansky, Darko Trifunović, CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION:
CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND • pp(405-427)
gence of new denominations.Similarly,Susm, a mystical interpretation of Islam,
exists among bothSunniandShiitebelievers.

Conicts between religions
In the course of history, conicts occurred between the major religious
groups.As mentioned above, the claim to exclusivity, which is present especially
in thecase of monotheistic religions, means the impossibility of reaching a com-
promise on thequestion of values without losing moral authority.Of course, con-
icts between religions also arise indierent perceptions of the scale of values:
what is unacceptable to believers of one religion (consuming beef for Hindus,
associating other deities withMuslims) may be common practice for believers of
other religions. 
In these conicts, it is the dierences between religions that are exaggerat-
ed, andbelievers in those religions are often demonized anddehumanized with
religious buildings andtemplesoften being targeted.31For example, during the
war inBosnia, both Franciscan and Orthodox monasteries andmosques were
often attacked.32 Religious objects perhaps best express the cultural heritage of
the country andare connected with thecivilizational aliation of a certain ter-
ritory.Similarly, the Islamic State (Daesh)attacked theAssyrian cultural heritage,
whether from antiquity or atancient Christian churches andmonasteries in the
conquered territory.
TheAmerican political scientist SamuelHuntingtonwrote in particularabout
thelongevity ofconicts between the world’s major religions and identied the
world’s major religions withindividual civilizations:“It can be said that to a large
extent the world’s major civilizations are identical tothe world›s largest religions”33.
Civilization is thus understood as the broadest cultural entity, the rst-degree di-
vision of humanity interms of its values, faith, institutions, or social structures.“Of
the world’s ve religions,four are associatedwith themost important civilizations –
Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, BuddhismandConfucianism”. 34Huntington explains
this situation, on the one hand, by adapting Buddhism to Chinese conditions
in China itself, and, on theother hand, by the fact that theTheravadic parts
inSoutheast Asia do not feel more closely tied toLamaistTibet andMongolia.
As Huntingtonnotes, there is a worldwide revival of religion:“Christian-
ity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Orthodoxy experienced new
waves of piety before only lukewarm believers”35. Especially after the fall of
communism, there was arevival of religion inmany countries of the former East-
31 Ladislav Hof reiter, Theory and Resolution of Conicts… p. 77.
32 Samuel P. Huntington, Střet civilizací, Rybka Publishers, Praha, 20 01, p. 23.
33 Ibidem.
34 Ibidem.
35 Ibidem.

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414 АНАЛИЗЕ
ern bloc. Consequently, the American philosopher, economist, andwriter Fran-
cisFukuyamaadmits that despite his vision of theend of history, accompanied
by the rise of liberal democracies andpeace, conicts between religions will
continue, especially based on “nationalism andother forms of racial andethnic
inequality”andother causes. Persistent conicts, “extremereligionism, in par-
ticular, religious fundamentalism”, should remain, with contradictions between
Islam and theChristian religionappearing to be fundamental.36
The fundamental problem here seems to be the lack of separation between
the religious andsecular spheres in theMuslim world, as wellas the lack of a
concept of secular law inIslamic thought.This, on the one hand, makes it dicult
to integrate Muslim communities into Western society, and, on the other hand,
does not lead tobuilding a common understanding with its non-Muslim neigh-
bors ofloyalty totheir country.37Inmany Muslim countries, sectarian logic still
prevails over the civic principle.
Religious conicts have a high mobilization potential and arecharacterized
by high cohesion withinthe group.There is a“clear structure of ‘they’ and ‘we’...
A simple vision of the enemy denying andfanatically ghting against all that is
‘holy’ to us, has a high mobilizing eect andis a rich source of political capital”38.
Believers can cross the borders of the state, while theirco-believerscome to
the aid of other countries or volunteer forthem.This was the case, for example,
with the Bosnian civil war, where thousands of mujaheddin frommany Muslim
countriesfought on the side of Muslim Bosniaks,39 At the same time,Orthodox
Greeks, Romanians, Russians, andUkrainianscame to the aid of the Serbs.40 On
the contrary, during the war inYugoslavia, it was Germany that pushed for rapid
international recognition of Croatia andSlovenia.
The civil war inBosnia is an example of what S.Huntingtoncalls the war
on fault lines.These conicts are characterized as particularly cruel and are of
a long-term nature. “Conicts on fault lines are communal conicts between
groups orstates fromdierent civilizations”41, adding “Wars on fault lines take
place between people professing a dierent religion”42. Not only states can be
actors in these conicts, but there are often non-state actors who represent part
of the population andhave separatist tendencies.
Enemy parties receive support from countries belonging to their civiliza-
tion.Neighboring states that share ethnic ties with the parties to the conict are
directly involved (i.e. Croatia andSerbia during the civil war inBosnia, Armenia
36 La dislav Hofreiter, Theory and Resolution of Conicts… p. 59.
37 Roger Scruton, The West a nd Others: Globalization and the Terrorist Threat, Barr ister & Principal, Brno, 2016, p. 68.
38 Ibid em, p. 69.
39 Dar ko Trifunović, Goran Stojakovic i Milinko Vračar, Terorizam i Vehabizam, Filip Visnjic , Beograd, 2011, p. 168.
40 Ladislav Hof reiter, Theory and Resolution of Conicts… p. 7 7.
41 Samuel P. Huntington, Střet civilizací… p. 23.
42 Ibidem.

ANALYSES 415
Rastislav Kazansky, Darko Trifunović, CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION:
CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND • pp(405-427)
inArtsakh), and indirectly, through logistical, material, anddiplomatic support.
Tertiary states that are far from the battleeld tend to be involved e.g.,Germany,
Russia, or Turkey, but often holds the position of the central state withina given
civilization.However, the most active arediasporacommunities, which tend to
be the most radical in their demands.43We believe that the radicalism of the di-
aspora is because those members of the diaspora, who have maintained a high
national awareness, are especially active. On the contrary, those who have assim-
ilated are no longer so intensely interested inwhat is happening in their country
of origin.It should also be borne in mind that therewere often peopleinthe di-
aspora who were politically persecuted during communist regimes in thecoun-
tries of Central and Eastern Europe.44
S.Huntingtonthen gives examples of wars on fault lines.He cites the strug-
gles between Serbs andCroats inEurope or Buddhists andTamilsin Sri Lanka
asexamples.However, inmost of these conicts,Muslimswere one of theac-
tors.Whether it is adispute between Israel and theArabs, or the war inSudan,
or theMaronite-Shiiteconict inLebanon.45 Heconcludesfromthis nding that
no matter what the boundaries of Islam, Muslims have problems coexisting
peacefully with their neighbors, while arguing for the high militarization of
Muslim society.46 Of course, the causes can also be based on these factors
andpopulation pressure.However, it is necessary to look at the issue of conicts
on fault lines also froma geographical pointofview.Namely, if we look at the
map, we see that Islamic civilization occupies the central region of Eurasia andAf-
rica, which is adjacent to thelargest number of other civilization groups.In other
words, no civilization has as many common land borders (on which a mixed pop-
ulation could live) as that of Islam.47
It is therefore logical that Muslims will be involved in most conicts on the
fault lines. Muslims in the Balkans, Caucasus, and Central Asia encounter Or-
thodox Christians inXinjiangand Indonesia, the Chinese Muslims andHindus
clashinSouth Asia48, in the Philippines, andTimor withCatholics.InAfrica, Islam
meetspartly alreadyChristian andpartly still animist sub-Saharan civilization.
The relationship between Christianity and Islam is themost discussed one.
43 Ibidem.
44 These cou ld often be perso ns associated with a nat ionalist or religious m ovement. E.g. much of the peo ple associated with t he
Independent St ate of Croatia fled abroad be fore the end of World War II for fear of r epression by Tito Yugoslavia. It is t herefore
natural that amo ng this diaspora will be the mo st supporters of t he “hard line”.
45 We can also mention hostility between Turks and Armenians, Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo, Russians and Chechens in the
North Cauc asus, Greeks and Turks no t only in Cyprus. See: Samuel P. Huntington, Střet civilizací… p. 102.
46 Ibidem.
47 Fur ther land borders bet ween civilizations can b e found in Eastern Europe between Or thodox and Western civiliz ation, then
on the Rio Grande River between Latin American and Western (although there is no religious conflict), then between Hindus
and Buddhists in Asia, and finally on Russia. Chinese border. With the exception of the Eastern European fault of civilization,
many of these bor ders were first demarc ated and later settled, r espectively. Separate d by natural barriers.
48 This was most intensely observed during the riots surrounding the partition of India. At present, the Hindu-Muslim conflict is
manifeste d in the case of Kashmir.

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Duringthe rst centuries of its existence, the early Islamic Caliphate conquered
more than half of the then Christian world, from the Pyrenees andMorocco in
the west, along the entire Mediterranean coast of Africa, and Egypt to the Fer-
tile Crescent.Initially, Muslims did not attemptmass conversions of Christians in
the conquered territory, as they would loserevenue from the special religious
taxjizya.49The Muslim expansion in the west was stopped by the Franks under
the leadership of KarolMartelin thebattle ofTours.
A new dynamic of relations between Christianity and Islam begins with
theproclamation of the Crusades at the end of the 11th century.Even today,
Muslim fundamentalists call any Western army a “Crusader.”50 The Crusaders es-
tablished a series of states on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean, where
a multicultural society was formed at the time consisting of Western Christians,
Orthodox, Jews, Muslims, Armenians, andother Eastern Christians.
Reconquistawas taking placein the Iberian Peninsula at that timewhen
Christian kingdoms in the north of the peninsula gradually pushed out Mus-
lim emirates andstatesmen in the south until they nally conquered Granada,
the last Muslim fortress. The current conict between Western Christian coun-
tries and Muslims, although largely based on the sameAbrahamic tradition,
diers signicantly, especially concerning interpretation and approach to the
tradition.According to the British philosopher R.Scruton, the fundamental dif-
ference isthat while Western civilization is held together by plurality andopen
discussion, the wordMuslimmeans someone who has surrendered, submitted,
andthus gained security.These completely dierent concepts make the coexist-
ence of Muslim refugees andWestern society dicult.51
Religious fundamentalism
Religious fundamentalism is often considered to be the main cause of reli-
gious conicts.52Etymologically, the word fundamentalism comes from theLatin
root fundamentum= base, fundamentalis = basic.53 Religious fundamentalist
movements are preaching areturn “to the roots” of their religion.Inthis context,
we nd a close comparison withpolitical radicalism, which also seeks to solve
problems insociety“from the root”.In both of these phenomena resp.streams,
49 Jizya is a tax which, under the Sharia law, is intended for adherents of tolerated monotheistic religions, such as Islam,
Christianity and Zoroastrianism.
50 In general, during religious wars, the enemy is identified with the archenemy in the past. For example, during the Bosnian
wars, form er Croatian militias labeled “ Ustashas”, Serbs as “gendarmes”, Muslims as “Turks”. See: Samuel P. Huntington, Střet
civilizací… p. 40.
51 Roger Scruton, The West an d Others: Globalization and the Terrorist Threat, Barr ister & Principal, Brno, 2016, p. 103.
52 Or iginally, the term fundamentali sm referred to a movement of Ame rican Protestants in t he 20th century, which inter preted
the Scriptu res literally and absolute ly. See: Jana Drozdíková, Lexicon of Islam, Kalligram, Bratislava, 20 05,
53 Ladislav Hofreiter, Theory and Resolution of Conicts, Academy of the Armed Forces of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik,
Liptovský Mi kuláš, 2008, p. 91.

ANALYSES 417
Rastislav Kazansky, Darko Trifunović, CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION:
CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND • pp(405-427)
one can observe an eort to enforce one›s vision and one›s action, often
regardless of plurality insociety. 
“Fundamentalism rejects compromises andcritical interpretations of sacred
texts.It proclaims the return toScripture as the only basis of all renewal.He points
to an ideal past, which he contrasts with thebankrupt presence.The lost ideal
can be achieved by returning to theoriginal text andreforming society”54.Reli-
gious fundamentalists respond to the decline of the moral authority of religion,
proclaiming a kind of “revival” of society, claiming infallibility and theright to
truth, fromwhich they subsequently derive their legitimacy andtheir share of
power.
“Fundamentalist movements, in particular, are a way to deal with the experi-
ence of chaos, loss of identity, meaning andsecure social structures caused by
the rapid introduction of modern social andpolitical models, secularization,sci-
entic culture, and economic development”55. People feel partly disoriented
andare looking for a simple guide to life oered by religious leaders.Therefore,
these movements“originate incountries where a rapidly growing population
makes it impossible to continue theold village way of life, andwhere the urban
way of life penetrates the villages, thus beginning to disintegrate the centuries-
old framework of peasants’ lives”56.
Religious fundamentalism isessentially present in all the world’s major re-
ligions.Within Christianity, it was represented in some way by Martin Luther
when he rejected some practices of the Catholic Church based on theprinciple
ofsolascriptura(based only on the Holy Scriptures) andrejected the later “depos-
its”,the tradition of the Catholic Church. Aspart of the Reformation, Calvinism
waseven more radical inthis regard.Ján Kalvín even tried to subject society to
monastic discipline.57English Puritans destroyed decorations inchurches.
At present, however, Islamic fundamentalism, in particular, is attracting
worldwide attention.It is often associated with theterm Islamism, and there
is a clear eort to implement the principle of IslamicSharia law,which can be
found in theKoran, respectively. Thus, Islamic fundamentalism is specic in that
Muslims already know exactly how society should be organized.For the Slovak
orientalist J. Drozdíková,Islamism is only a synonym for Islamic fundamental-
ism.58“Politically, he demands God’s government andrejects the idea that the
highest authority is the people.ForIslamists, God is the highest authority.They
reject the secular state because it means the division of theummah59 in areas
54 Jana Droz díková, Lexicon of Islam… p. 39.
55 Samuel P. Huntington, Střet civilizací… p. 30.
56 Ibidem.
57 Ibidem… p. 53.
58 Michal Čejka, Enc yclopedia of Middle Eastern Terrorism, Barrister & Pr incipal, Prague, 2007, p. 55.
59 Ummah = Muslim community of believers.

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withits jurisdiction”60.
On the contrary, the Czech lawyer andpolitical scientistČejkain hisEncyclo-
pedia of Middle Eastern TerrorismdenesIslamismas: “1. a form of a more sig-
nicant blending of Islam withpolitics (political Islam), 2. as a form of Islamic reli-
gious fundamentalism ... 3.as the spread of Islam by terrorist methods, 4.some-
timesIslamism isconsidered a new political ideology... The concept ofIslamism
is not necessarily associated with violence, political radicalism, andterrorism,
although this is so often the case”61.
As mentioned above, religious fundamentalism thrives especially where
there is achange in the way of life andpeople seek anchorage inreligion.There-
fore, we are not at all surprised by the prole ofIslamists.“Activists of Islamic
fundamentalist groups are not ... aging conservatives or illiterate peasants ... even
forMuslims, religious revival is an urban phenomenon andappeals to people
who are modernly oriented, well educated, andare building careers in govern-
ment, business or other professions”62.
The propensity forfundamentalismwithin Islam is reinforced by the non-ex-
istence of the separation of the state andchurch spheres. While Western Christian-
ity resolved this conict, especially during the struggle for theinvestiture,63“this is
fundamentally dierent from the vision presented to us by the Qur’an, according
to which sovereignty lies inGod andhis Prophet and thelegal order is based on
divine command”64. Therefore, devout Muslims will more often try to implement
theelements ofSharia lawinto the legal order of the state.65“According toIslam-
ists, Islam is a complete guide to life, the ecclesiastical laws from God are per-
fect.They do not recognize the principles of democracy, which are torespect the
will of the majority, because it iscontrary toGod’s established laws andGod does
not recognize the separation of religion from the state”66.Thus,Shariapromotes a
comprehensive conception of the organization of society, andsecular legislation
is not separated from individual morality.
One of theproblems that have led to a rise in Islamic fundamentalism is the
decentralized nature of the entire Muslim religion.Islam lacks a religious author-
ity that would be a kind of Muslim “pope” or “patriarch”, bindingly interpreting
the Qur’an andtexts, or deciding which notion of Islam is over andwhich is not
60 Samuel P. Huntington, Střet civilizací… p. 105.
61 Jana Drozdíková, Lexicon of Islam… p. 32.
62 Samuel P. Huntington, Střet civilizací… p. 32.
63 A medie val struggle between t he Roman-German empero r and the pope over who has the right to c hoose the person of the
bishop.
64 Roger Scr uton, The West and Others: Globalization and the Terrorist Threat… p. 107.
65 The concept of territorial jurisdiction has long been foreign to Islamic thought. For example, in the Ottoman Empire, which
included not on ly Muslims but also Christ ians and Jews, this problem wa s solved through a syst em of millets (from the Turkish
“nation”), which represented individual religious groups. They had their own jurisdiction in matters of religious, cultural or
family law. The arbitr ators in their possible d isputes were the sultan. Se e: Ibidem, p. 89.
66 Ladis lav Hofreiter, Securitology, Academy of the Armed Fo rces of General Milana Ras tislav Štefánik, L iptovský Mikuláš, 200 6, p.
12.

ANALYSES 419
Rastislav Kazansky, Darko Trifunović, CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION:
CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND • pp(405-427)
yet.Atpresent, the interpretation of the Qur’an is often based on localimams
who“often name themselves in this role”. Unlike the Christian church, Islam did
not develop as an institution or legal entity.
Given the benevolence over when violence can be used, many adherents
of Islamic fundamentalism have decided to push their worldview with a gun in
theirhand.Withinthe Muslim world, therefore, a relatively wide range of dier-
ent militias andterrorist groupsoperate, aimed at enforcingSharia lawinto the
life of society. 
On the other hand, some fundamentalists are trying to enforce their vision
of society in terms of resources in a more moderate way, in the form of a parlia-
mentary journey.TheMuslim Brotherhood can be seeninthis sense67, as a kind
ofIslamistinternational, with branches in several countries of the region. Behind
the growing tendencies towardsradicalIslamism,we can see a radical ideology
seeking to promote the idea of a worldwide caliphate,68following theancient
Muslim division of the world into thegift ofal-Islam(house of Islam) and thegift
ofal-gharb(house of war), which originally included territories under the rule of
unbelievers.As Muslims later found it impossible to conquer the whole world, a
third concept,daral-ahdordaral-suhd emerged, which can be characterized as
a ceasere house that includes all countries that have a certain treaty withMus-
lims.Atpresent, most non-Muslim countries in the world technically fall under
this term, as they haveestablished diplomatic relationswith Muslim countries
andconcluded international agreements.Here we can see the radicalism ofIs-
lamists, who reject this later concept ofdaral-ahd, andall non-Muslim countries
consider it agift ofal-gharb. The thorn in theside of manyIslamistsis the very
existence of the state of Israel, which they perceive as a foreign element, decom-
posing andon the sacred groundaround Jerusalem.69The goal of “destroying
the state of Israel” is therefore often repeated inmanyIslamistorganizations.
The existence of Muslim fundamentalism, whether in individual Muslim
states or among the Muslim diaspora inWestern Europe, especially among sec-
ond- or third-generation immigrants, means that in theeyes of the majority soci-
ety, religion itself is associated withfundamentalist groups.Such perceptions are
often reinforced by the fact that no “relevant” Muslim authority has condemned
such actions.The presence of Muslims in agiven society is then perceived as a
potential security threat.
The phenomenon of religious fundamentalism has not escaped Hindu-
ism either. Hindu fundamentalists are associated withtheSanghParivarmove-
ment, andmanifestations of their xenophobia and intolerance are mostly di-
67 The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in r. 1928 in Egypt as a movement against the semi - colonial position of the country,
carrying out humanitarian and charitable activities. From Egypt, the movement spread to other Arab countries: Jordan,
Palestine, Syria a nd Sudan. See: Jana Drozdíková, Lexicon of Islam…
68 Ladislav Ho freiter, Securitology… p. 12.
69 Ibidem.

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420 АНАЛИЗЕ
rected against religious minorities, especially Muslims andalso Christians, but
also against members of the lower castes like Dalits.70  According to Hindu
fundamentalists, India should become a purely Hindu state just as Pakistan was
founded as a state for Indian Muslims.
Artsakh andNorthern Ireland as examples of religiously motivated
conicts
The religious element of conict can be observed in two current con-
icts.The Armenian-Azerbaijani conict overArtsakh,Nagorno-Karabakh ared
up again inSeptember 2020, andthe fragile peace inNorthern Ireland71, which
may have existed due to the actual absence of aninlandborder in thecontext of
theBrexitprocess, is becoming increasingly volatile.
Artsakhas an example of an ethnic-territorial conict with areligious
element
The origin of the dispute over the Arcas can be dated to the Soviet
machinations with the borders of the individual republics. To favor Turkey,
Stalin annexed Nakhichevan and Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan, although
atthat time, Nagorno-Karabakh was inhabited almost exclusively by Armenians,
andNachichevan had a mixed population.The Armenian presence in theregion
can be documented as early as the fth century BC, andArtsakhretained a degree
of self-government under the rule of the Muslim dynasties inPersia.During the
liberation of the Soviet regime, the Armenians in theNagorno-KarabakhASSR
voted in a referendum in December 1991 to join Armenia after which the
Azerbaijani forces marched on the area.
The war inNagorno-Karabakh meant the displacement of about 700 to 800
thousandAzeris and220 to 330 thousand Armenians.For the Armenians, the
key was to ensure a direct connection between Armenia itself andNagorno-
Karabakh through the town ofLačin.The Armenians gradually gained control
of the territory west and south of Nagorno-Karabakh, gaining direct borders
withArmenia andIran.As aresult, Azerbaijan has lost control of 15% of its ter-
ritory.72
According to L.Hofreiter, “the conict overNagorno-Karabakh is consid-
ered a model cultural-civilizational conict andis also key toachievingstability
70 R astislav Kazanský, Security Policy - Conict Theory, Matej Bel Un iversity, Banská Byst rica, 2011.
71 The te rm Ulster is sometimes use d as a synonym for Northe rn Ireland, but it also include s adjacent territories in the R epublic
of Ireland. Histo rically, Ireland is an island separate d the four regions: Ulster to the no rth, Leinster to the east, Mu nster to the
south and Connac ht in the west.
72 Tomáš Šmíd, “Armenian Symbolism and Azerbaijani Revanism. What is happening in Nagorno- Karabakh?”, HlidaciPes,
September 29, 2020. Available at: https://hlidacipes.org/armensky-symbolismus-a-azerbajdzansky-revansismus-co-se-deje-v-
nahornim- karabachu/?hilite=Tom%C3%A1%C5%A1+%C5%A0m%C3%AD (accessed February 26, 2021).

ANALYSES 421
Rastislav Kazansky, Darko Trifunović, CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION:
CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND • pp(405-427)
in the whole region”73. For Armenia, the Christian faith is a signicant element
of its own cultural identity. On the other hand, most believers in Azerbaijan
areShiiteMuslims.Nevertheless, Azerbaijan’s key allies inthis conict are not re-
ligiously close to Iran, but linguistically close to Turkey.According toRenardfor
theJournal International, theconict between Armenia andAzerbaijan is not
aboutreligious or raw material disputes, but about territory above all.74
However, the ethnic element seems to be more important than the religious
element of the conict.Mutual Armenian-Turkish relations are marked predomi-
nantly by the experience of thegenocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire’s
state apparatus during the First World War, which Turkey has so fardenied as
thesuccessor state to the Ottoman Empire.“Azerbaijanis, as close relatives of the
Turks,represent an identical enemyin theArmenian collective subconscious”75.
The key issue inthe conict itself is the territorial dispute. The values at
stakeinthis conict are, above all, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, asop-
posed to theright to self-determination and security for the Armenians inArt-
sakh. AsChristianHeitmannwritesfor the newspaper Postoj, the level of hostility
has reached such adimension76 that the resumption of control of Azerbaijan over
the disputed area would mean a humanitarian catastrophe for Armenians. “The
autonomy of Nagorno-Karabakhwithin Azerbaijan is not a reality, but at least a
short break before the nal goal of Azerbaijan-Karabakh without Armenians”77.
In assessing the conict, we repeatedly come across a statement com-
paring the political regime inArmenia andAzerbaijan.Despitethe role of oli-
garchsandRussian inuence,there is a degree of democracyinArmenia, while
Azerbaijanis considered to be a dictatorship.78 Although a religious elementis
presentin theconict, nationalism andrevanchism play amuch more promi-
nent rolein theconict. Evidence of this isIran’snon-involvementin favor of
Azerbaijan, despite its strong support for Turkey.On the other hand, raids on the
Armenian cathedral in thecity of Shushha or the earlier destruction of Arme-
nian monumentsaround Nakhichevan, prove the importance of religion as part
of a collective identity.R. Kazansky writes “ The objects of attack are rstly reli-
gious symbols - churches, monasteries worship, cultural booths, religious leaders
73 La dislav Hofreiter, Securitology … p .12
74 Andrew Renard, “Thousands Died For Nothing? Armenia VS Azerbaijan”, Le Journal International, May 28, 2020. Available at:
http://www.lejournalinternational.info/en/des-milliers-de-morts-pour-rien-armenie-vs-azerbaidjan/ (accessed February 25,
2021).
75 Tomá š Šmíd, “Armenian Symbolism and Azerbaijani Revanism. What is happening in Nagorno- Karabakh?”…
76 In 2005, the mayor of the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, was told that his goal was the complete elimination of Armenians, just
as the Nazis had eliminated Jews ( Renard , 2020). Revanism and anti-Armenian sentiments have also entered the school
curriculum in Azerbaijan, with Armen ian education also sparking anti-Azerbaijani passions. See: Ibidem.
77 C hristian Heitmann, “ The War in Nagorno- Karabakh: How to Save the Ar menians From Destr uction”, October 6, 2020. Available
at: https://www.postoj.sk/62681/preco-uznat-nahorny-karabach-a-zachranit-tamojsich-armenov-pred-znicenim (accessed
February 22, 2021).
78 To máš Šmíd, “Armenian Symbolism and Azerbaijani Revanism. What is happening in Nagorno- Karabakh?”…

ПОЛИТИКОЛОГИЈА РЕЛИГИЈЕ бр. 2/2021 год XV• POLITICS AND RELIGION • POLITOLOGIE DES RELIGIONS • Nº 2/2021 Vol. XV
422 АНАЛИЗЕ
andauthorities”79.
Northern Ireland as an example of a hierarchical ethnic conict with areligious
element
The conict inNorthern Ireland can also be called sectarian, with the par-
ties to the conict being identied with theCatholic andProtestant populations
of this troubled British province, but the conict has long since lost its religious
essence. The cause of the conict can soon be found in themodel of a hierarchi-
cal, vertically integrated system of relations, where culturesfor the division of la-
borare created between individual groups,80 or in other words, where one group
is privileged while the other is subordinate to it.
Such a pattern was once applied inIreland, where Protestants were a privi-
leged group while Catholics weresubordinate.The decisive criterion is thesocial
process of the individual as belonging toProtestantism likeCatholicism. Scottish
andEnglish Protestant colonists settled mainly in thecoastal areas of Northern
Ireland.Originally a religious conict, it receives a class charge - poorer Catholic
Irish asopposed towealthier Protestants.
The end of the First World War and the emergence of an independent
Irelandbrought a new dimension to the conict.Those who demanded an in-
dependent Ireland called themselves nationalists, while those who wanted to
remain part of Britain were loyalists orunionists.Due to the largely Protestant
population in the north of the island, the island was divided, andsix northern
Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom.While most Protestants re-
mained on the British side of theInlandborder, a signicant portion of the Catho-
lic population remained who wanted to be part of a united Ireland.
The political division intounionistsand nationalists has persisted to the pre-
sent day: “The dominant division ofWelshandScottish society is primarily so-
cio-economic; inNorthern Ireland, it is linked primarily to the country’sreligious
andnational identity, which is reected in the country’s constitutional order”81.
Interms of political orientation, the two strongestunionistparties, theO cialUn-
ionistParty and theDemocraticUnionistParty, are more right-wing andconserv-
ative, and the dominant nationalist parties,SinnFeinand theSocial Democrat-
icLabor Party are more left-wing.82 This is related to theabove-mentioned class
division.The inuence of religion on political programs was reected primarily
in the programs ofunionistparties, which are partly inspired by strict Calvinism.
Theoriginally religious conict that polarized the people of Northern Ire-
79 Ras tislav Kazanský, Security Policy - Conict Theory, Matej Bel Uni versity, Banská Bystr ica, 2011.
80 Ibidem.
81 Ben edict Kiely, “The New Threat to Ir aq´s Christ ians”, Real Clear Politics, 2018. Available at: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/
articles/2018/12/18/the_new_threat_to_iraqs_christians_138951.html#! (accessed February 23, 20201).
82 Logan Straight, Who rules Britain?, Sociologické nakladatelství (SLON), Praha, 2004.

ANALYSES 423
Rastislav Kazansky, Darko Trifunović, CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION:
CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND • pp(405-427)
land into a Catholic andProtestant camp has transformed into a clash of collec-
tive identities, with doctrinal dierences between Catholicism andProtestant-
ism being secondary and the collective consciousness andpolitical anity of
eitherBritish or Irelandas more signicant.
Good Friday Agreement, in English known as the Good Friday Agree-
mentfrom 1998,stopped the bloodshed.The decisive precondition for a peace-
ful solution to the conict was the de facto removal of theinternalborder.With
thedeparture of the United Kingdom from theEuropean Union, the question
of the course of the customs border became relevant again.The Republic of Ire-
land certainly does not want to leave theEuropean Union, and therestoration of
theinternalborderwill meet thereluctance of the Catholic population of North-
ern Ireland.ForUnionistProtestants, it is inconceivable that the border should
lead through the North Strait and theIrish Sea, as they would see this as one of
thesteps to weaken Northern Ireland’s ties with the rest of the United Kingdom.

Conclusion
The issue of securitization of religion at the beginning of the 21st century
remains relatively topical.Religion has become one of theforms of identity, and
with the revival of the world around the world, this form of identity has gained
importance.We can classify the issue of religion inthe security studies under the
category ofsocialsecurity, and it tends to be threatened by migration, cultural
imperialism, loss of awareness of belonging or demographic problems.83Espe-
cially in theIslamic world, the question of the securitization of religion is very
topical andimportant, because together withloyalty to a tribe or clan, it isone
of the main elements of identity andbelonging that is felt to the state in amuch
less intense form.In thecase of the securitization of religion, the settlement of
a conict is often a compromise, as the values, especiallythe subject matter of
the dispute as such is indivisible.If the party to the conict inmatters of religion
and belief were willing to compromise, it would question its claim to exclusivity. 
The second chapter was devoted to conicts within religions.From the be-
ginning, we looked at the controversies inearly Judaism, then examined the his-
tory of the division of Christianity into individual currents andschisms.We found
that it was the disputes between the various currents of Christianity thatulti-
mately facilitated the advent of Islam, as Muslim troops welcomed Christians
oppressed by Constantinople as liberators. However, the Muslims themselves
also relatively soon split into three dierent sects, fromwhich the animosity be-
tweenSunnisandShiitesdetermines the dynamics of conicts in the Middle East
to this day.Examples include Iranian support for Iraq and thegovernment inSyr-
ia andinsurgents inYemen, as well as Turkish andSaudi support for insurgents
83 Břetislav Štěpánek and Pavel Otřís al, Possibilities and Limitat ions of Selected Indexe s of Public Orders Effect iveness in Action
of International Military Organizat ion NATO Joint CBRN Defence COE, China-USA Business Review, Vol. 12, No. 4, 2013, p. 374.

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424 АНАЛИЗЕ
inSyria andSunnisinYemen. 
The Reformation of Christianity under the leadership of Martin Luther
andJohn Calvin brought a new wave of conict to the previously relatively uni-
ed world of Western Christianity.From thedynamics of their mutual conicts
and thevision of the nation-state, a modern concept of a secular state was nally
born, the boundaries of which are justied by ethnic anity. 
The third chapter dealt with the conict between religions.At the begin-
ning of the chapter, we looked at the theory of the American political scientist
S.Huntington, who in his bookClash ofCivilizationsidentied major world civili-
zations,many of them based on religion, andthen examined his theory ofwars
on civilizational breaks.We can characterize these as particularly cruel, involv-
ingethnic cleansing and thedestruction of cultural heritage.Froma historical
perspective, we can perceive the dynamics of the struggle between Christianity
andIslam, which initially was characterized by relatively rapid Muslim expansion
into the area of the Eastern Mediterranean andNorth Africa, which was subse-
quently reversed by the SpanishReconquistaand thecrusaderexpeditions.
Finally, the fourth chapter analyzes and issues of religious fundamental-
ism.Withinit, we deal in more detail with Islamic fundamentalism, as it is the
phenomenon that is the most current andwhich is faced either directly or indi-
rectly by the states of the European Union.
Looking at the two conicts with asemi-religious background,the Arme-
nian-Azerbaijani conict inArtsakhand theNorthern Irish conict, we nd that
religious dierences alone are not a decisive factor inthe conicts. TheArmenian-
Azerbaijani conict isprimarily aterritorial dispute overNagorno-Karabakh.Azer-
baijan argues by respecting territorial integrity.The fact remains that it wasexclu-
sively Armenian territory, which, however, Stalin crossed Azerbaijan.The second
signicant element in theconict is the Turkish-Armenian animosity, which has
transformed into Azerbaijan-Armenian hostility. The conict inNorthern Ireland,
which began as a religious dispute, was transformed into a class conict, where
British-preferred Protestants opposed the oppressed poorer Irish.Subsequently,
since the creation of independent Ireland, there has been a conict between
nationalists who would like to join aunited Ireland andloyalists who want po-
litical ties to London. The membership of both countries in theEuropean Union
andborderless communication meant that neither nationalists nor loyalistsfelt
the existence of a borderintheir daily lives.In thecontext ofBrexit, the issue of
the resumption of border controls is becoming relevant again andmay lead toa
resumption of conict. 


ANALYSES 425
Rastislav Kazansky, Darko Trifunović, CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION:
CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND • pp(405-427)
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ANALYSES 427
Rastislav Kazansky, Darko Trifunović, CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION:
CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND • pp(405-427)
Растислав Казански и Дарко Трифуновић
СЕКУРИТИЗАЦИЈА РЕЛИГИЈЕ:
СЛУЧАЈЕВИ АРЦАХА И СЕВЕРНЕ ИРСКЕ
Сажетак
Секуритизација религије, односно перцепција религије у контексту без-
бедности, поново је присутна у словачком и српском контексту, углавном
у вези са миграционом кризом. Рад је углавном теоријски. Питање верског
идентитета може се укључити у сектор социјалне сигурности. За разлику
од осталих сукоба идентитета, религија поларизује, а верски сукоби праће-
ни су уништавањем културног наслеђа и верских предмета. Религијски су-
коби могу се уочити како између верских група, тако и између конфесија.
Последње поглавље посвећено је студији случаја Арцаха и Северне Ирске.
У оба наведена сукоба религијски фактор је споредан. У Арцаху је то првен-
ствено националистичка борба за територију, док је у случају Северне Ирске
хијерархијски етнички сукоб.
Кључне речи: религија, секуритизација, фундаментализам, Артсакх, Се-
верна Ирска