Research focuses on the relationship between territorial disputes in the Caucasus and wider geopolitical and geoeconomic considerations.

The politics of the countries of the South Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, remain turbulent and unpredictable. The region's transition from Soviet pseudo-federalism to a system of nation states left open questions on ethno-territorial autonomy, many of which remain unanswered.

Whilst Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia have moved to consolidate their states, the prospects for conflict resolution, reconciliation and political reform remain weak.

To what extent are these states free to shape their own political and strategic destinies? Can peaceful settlements to the territorial disputes in the region be found, or was the war between Russia and Georgia of 2008 the first act in a prolonged confrontation between Russia and the West? The Programme examines both the internal political dynamics of the states of the South Caucasus, and the region's role in broader questions of the future of European security, Trans-Atlantic integration, energy transit, and the West's role in the post-Soviet space.

Topics examined include:

• The internal dynamics of the states of the South Caucasus
• The region's role in broader questions of the future of European security
• The potential for conflict resolution, or escalation, in the region
• The impact of oil and gas production and transit on the political economies of Azerbaijan and Georgia
• Turkey's relations with the countries of the South Caucasus
• The role of Western institutions and the future of trans-Atlantic partnership and integration in the region
• The implications of political developments in the North Caucasus for the countries of the South Caucasus.

Publications:

Post-Revolutionary Georgia on the Edge?
Briefing Paper
S. Neil MacFarlane, March 2011

How to Get a Georgia-Russia Dialogue
Programme Paper
Neil MacFarlane, November 2010

The South Caucasus: Drama on Three Stages
(in Ready to Lead: Rethinking America's Role in a Changed World)
Chatham House Paper
James Nixey, May 2010

The Geopolitics of Azerbaijan
Roundtable Summary, April 2010

Georgia's New Strategic Approach to Conflict Resolution
Roundatable Summary, April 2010

Turkish-Armenian Diplomacy: Bilateral and Regional Implications of Efforts to Normalize Relations
Seminar Summary, March 2010

Turkey, Russia and the Caucasus: Common and Diverging Interests
Briefing Paper
Gareth Winrow, November 2009

The Implications of the Russia-Georgia War for European Security
(in The Guns of August 2008: Russia's War in Georgia, edited by Svante E Cornell and S Frederick Starr)
James Sherr, 2009

Six Perspectives on the Georgia Crisis
Philip Hanson, Arkady Moshes, James Nixey, James Sherr, Lilia Shevtsova, Neil MacFarlane, September 2008

Events

12 October 2010 One Year after the Independent Report on the Conflict in Georgia: Responses and Updates Heidi Tagliavini, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Head of the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia

28 April 2010
The Geopolitics of Azerbaijan
Professor Elkhan Nuriyev, Director, Centre for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

22 April 2010
Georgia's New Strategic Approach to Conflict Resolution
Temuri Yakobashvili, Minister for Reintegration and Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia

3 March 2010
Turkish-Armenian Diplomacy: Bilateral and Regional Implications of Efforts to Normalize Relations

17 February 2010
Why Georgia Matters
HE Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia

10 February 2010
Values and Security in the South Caucasus
HE Serzh Sargsyan, President of the Republic of Armenia

15 December 2009
Whither Georgia: The Impact of Russian Actions Since August 2008

13 October 2009
Georgia's Relations with Russia from 1991 to the Present
Grigol Vashadze, Foreign Minister of Georgia

16 September 2009
Georgia: Recovery or Retreat?
Irakli Alasania, founder, Our Georgia-Free Democrats

13 July 2009
Foreign Policy Challenges for Azerbaijan
HE Ilham Aliyev, President, Republic of Azerbaijan

14 May 2009
Georgia: Latest Developments and Future Prospects
Nikoloz Gilauri, Prime Minister of Georgia

21 January 2009
The Georgian Challenge and the New US Administration, Europe and Russia
Salomé Zourabichvili, Former Foreign Minister of Georgia

Contact

For more information please contact Alex Nice