Watch

The Civilitas public forum, entitled “20 Years of Geopolitics in the Caucasus,” hosted three veteran Caucasus watchers to talk about geopolitics in and around Armenia over the two decades of independent regional development. The discussion took place on June 22 at the Ani Plaza Hotel in Yerevan.

The panel featured Liz Fuller, a Caucasus Editor and Analyst at Radio Free Europe, based in Prague. Her multiple reports focus on issues surrounding the Caucasus region as well as other countries in post-soviet transition. Her special interest, the North Caucasus, is something that is usually left out of discussions on the Caucasus.
Lawrence Sheets, previously with Reuters and National Public Radio, is currently Project Director at International Crisis Group is based in Tbilisi. His areas of expertise include the Caucasus, Russia and Ukraine. Laurence Broers, a Project Manager for the Caucasus Program at Conciliation Resources, is based in London. Laurence has published a number of articles in scholarly journals relating to themes of ethnicity, democratization and conflict in the South Caucasus. He completed his doctoral studies on the post-Soviet republic of Georgia and has participated in numerous NGO projects there.

Changes are many, agreed participants, but the real question remains whether region-wide developments and relations among the three neighbors – Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan – have truly evolved or whether each of the countries has resurfaced with deeper historic baggage transformed into political baggage. Is North Caucasus a part of this region? Is the South Caucasus a system, a unit, a piece? Is it up to the region to decide or is it really the internationals that decide, based on geopolitics and energy policy?  The speakers cast a look at the evolution of bilateral relations among the three countries and the various non-state entities.  

The panel, moderated by Civilitas Director Salpi Ghazarian, also discussed the divergent roles of Azerbaijan’s peace advocates versus those who defend democratization processes and the disconnect between the two. Panelists also commented on the role of the North Caucasus in Georgia-Azerbaijan relations and in Georgia-Russia relations.

Of course the Karabakh conflict, as well as the other unresolved statuses of S. Ossetia and Abkhazia were also recurring topics.

This public forum is the latest in a series of public discussions on regional and domestic issues, and is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.