PERCEPTION OF THE TALIBAN COMING TO POWER IN AFGHANISTAN: VIEWS FROM TAJIKISTAN.

In this article, we attempt to analyze perceptions of the Taliban's ascent to power in Afghanistan among various political groups in Tajikistan. In order to do this, we study the channels and groups on the social networks most popular in Tajikistan (Telegram and Vkontakte) and conduct qualitative content analysis of text and video materials. We argue that the government and the opposition are quite similar in their assessments of the new authorities in Afghanistan. This issue therefore represents an area of common ground between the two groups. We also claim that the Tajik opposition, including moderate Islamists, is more oriented around national than Islamic solidarity. We note that the experience of the Islamic approach to state-building has not been translated effectively to the Tajik context by proponents of the Taliban. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]