This collection surveys the three South Caucasian states’ economic, social and political evolution since their independence in 1991. It assesses their successes and failures in these areas, including their attempts to build new national identities and value systems to replace Soviet-era structures. It explains the interplay of domestic and international factors that have affected their performance and influenced the balance of their successes and shortcomings. It focuses on the policies pursued by key regional and international actors towards the region and assesses the effects of regional and international rivalries on these states’ development, as well as on the prospects for regional cooperation and conflict resolution. Finally, it analyzes a number regional and international developments which could affect the future trajectory of these states’ evolution.

The change of the geopolitical realities and dynamics, the latest regional developments and the emergence of a new perception of security due to the new situation in Karabakh have changed current perspectives in the South Caucasus region. This book will provide a comprehensive introduction for students, academics, media representatives, business persons and those who are interested in the region. It will guide you through in a very readable and engaging style as it covers all the salient points and issues of the North Caucasus (the authonomous republics) succinctly and the South Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia) in detail. After the last development and Russian direct involvement in the Karabakh issue, the world’s attention has focused increasingly on the Caucasus region. Thus, THE CHANGING PERSPECTIVES AND ‘NEW’ GEOPOLITICS OF THE CAUCASUS IN THE 21ST CENTURY book will be an excellent introduction to the complexities of a little-known the Caucasus region and make a significant contribution to the understanding of fundamental issues of the region. As the editors, we would like to dedicate this book to the heroic Azerbaijani soldiers who were martyred during the struggle for the liberation of the Karabakh lands from the Armenian occupation.

The book provides a comprehensive understanding of the unfolding geopolitical changes in the South Caucasus in the age of increased great power competition across Eurasia. Recent research on the geopolitics of the South Caucasus focuses either on interstate relations among Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia or on each of regional actor’s (Russia, Turkey and Iran) ties with the region’s one or all three states. Little attempt has been made to see the region’s shifting geopolitical importance from a global perspective: growing US-China rivalry and shifting balance of power in Eurasia; recalibration of the US’ military and diplomatic vision in western Eurasia to adjust to the Chinese challenge. The book argues, from a theoretical point of view, that the increased competition in the region fits into the global pattern of unfolding great power competition, when military and economic calculations drive regional powers to increase their influence on immediate neighborhoods sidelining the collective West from the negotiating table and the emerging new security architecture.

Having spent decades reporting on conflicts in Georgia and Chechnya, Vicken Cheterian provides an authoritative account of ethno-nationalistic strife in the Caucasus since the collapse of the Soviet Union. He investigates why some nationalist movements became violent while others did not and explores various secessionist rebellions in the region. He also discusses ongoing instability in the North Caucasus, Georgia, and Armenia, and analyzes the competition between Western powers and a newly resurgent Russia for the Caucasus's hydrocarbon resources.

This work explores the geopolitical struggles that are currently underway in the newly independent states of the Caucasus region, showing how many players in the region are coalescing into two opposing blocs. The growing political, military and economic ties amongst the countries of these two blocs stem from a number of developments in the region, most notably the fall of the Soviet Union, and consequently the end of the Cold War and its bi-polar global alliance structure. These blocs are competing for influence in the region, and the rights to exploit and transport the rich energy resources that have been found in the Caspian Sea. The text shows how many actors have been willing to co-operate in other non-energy related issues, in the hope of receiving a financial reward when countries do decide on these matters.

Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU's ambition to develop "strategic and ambitious partnership(s) based on common values and rules, mutual interests and commitments, as well as shared ownership and responsibility" (EEAS) in the countries of the Eastern Partnership has come under much pressure. Whatever remains of this ambitions in the South Caucasus has turned into a frantic attempt to re-define the EU's role in this new geopolitical scenario. This collection focuses on Armenia and Georgia as the two "frontline" countries in which the beneficial role of the EU and the supposed commonality of values are being questioned most rigorously. Using the perspective of authors from the region, this volume offers unique insights into the debates and perceptions of the EU's involvement in the South Caucasus.

Since February 2022 - when Russia invaded the Ukraine - the geopolitical situation in the South Caucasus changed dramatically. On the one hand, EU sanctions on Russia made the "Middle Corridor" of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative through the South Caucasus more attractive for China and Europe, on the other hand the "protective power" Russia is weakened by the war and the Western sanctions leaving a vacuum of power in the South Caucasus. As a result, Azerbaijan was able to reconquer the region Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023 within a few days, only. Therefore, the region is still not more an unassailable Russian "backyard" or "sphere of interest" but place of a new "great game" of the main powers in the world. Beside Russia losing power - a slight rise of China can be observed while the West - U.S. and the EU - is still neglecting the region. Only Türkiye became a new active geopolitical player in the region. This may - beside all tragedy for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh - bring some "never ending conflicts" in the region to an end and may open up new opportunities for Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan to develop better economically in the near future.