Changing Patterns of Conflict and Geopolitical Alignments in the Caucasus: Implications for Europe

Seminar with Svante Cornell, Director of Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program Joint Center, JHU, Washington

In European debates, the South Caucasus and Caspian region have been overshadowed by developments in Ukraine and Syria. But as renewed fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan suggests, the region’s patterns of conflict and geopolitical alignments have become increasingly volatile. Moreover, over the past few years, the Syrian conflict and the ensuing Russian-Turkish confrontation have led to a growing geopolitical interconnection between the Caucasus and the Middle East. The 2008 war in Georgia showed how the region’s problems can quickly become a European problem; yet if the EU wants to play an influential role on matters of war and peace in the Caucasus remains, it should develop a more comprehensive strategy.