The South Caucasus: towards regional cooperation

Abstract

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the three states of the South Caucasus-Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan faced the challenges of transition to full statehood and market economies. On the path of democratization they were caught in the web of the intricate interests of global powers. The crucial geopolitical configuration of the region as a bridge between Europe, Central, Asia, and the Middle East, ethnic tensions, and energy resources have formed the cornerstone of international attention. In this essay the main commonalities and differences in the domestic/regional as well as foreign policy environments of the three South Caucasian states are analyzed using a cross-section research design based on a comparable case approach. The major commonalities are drawn from the analysis to demarcate those common spheres and tasks that can best be exploited to create regional cooperation between the states. Regional cooperation on the societal level is viewed in the essay as the best option of cooperation in the current political context of the South Caucasus. Such form of cooperation is not a sufficient but a necessary precondition for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and the establishment of peace and stability in the region.