Conflicts in the Caucasus
Flanked by the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea between eastern Europe and western Asia, the geopolitically strategic Caucasus region has seen its fair share of conflict and instability. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Chechnya, Georgia and Russia are some of the region’s countries that have witnessed conflict, poverty and outright war in recent decades. Against this backdrop, the EU-funded CASCADE (Exploring the security-democracy nexus in the Caucasus) project investigated the political, social and geographical dynamics that have defined the region. It considered elements that were academically overlooked, focusing particularly on local perceptions of democracy and security. The investigation revealed that the links between democracy and security vary significantly from country to country within the Caucasus. Semi-democratic or authoritarian states with weak institutions and elite interests display state-sanctioned violence. On the other hand, democratisation has often led to breakdowns in state building and has impacted stability. While external actors – namely Russia – can lead to both security and insecurity, the latter is also brought about by a state that relies on violence, coercion or ineffective socioeconomic policies. These developments are very important for the EU, which strives to encourage stability in this neighbouring region. Migration, which many of the region’s citizens resort to in order to escape poverty and insecurity, has also created concern among EU actors. Moreover, the project team showed how Russian hegemony can undermine local development and the economy. To illustrate, large-scale modernisation projects implemented by Russia in the north Caucasus have negatively impacted the livelihood of small local producers and has helped depopulate mountain areas. Such top-down approaches not only underline the friction between Russia and the west, but also disempower the region’s nations in shaping their geopolitical environment. In parallel, the project team demonstrated how domestic actors respond to external actors’ policies and contribute to shaping them. CASCADE has produced insights and recommendations for the EU to help battle impoverishment, enhance dialogue with Russia and improve ties with the region. The project’s outcomes, publications and workshops have not only initiated debate on the topic, they have also laid the foundation to promote energy security, political stability and trade in the region.
Keywords
Caucasus, poverty, war, CASCADE, migration, political stability