The Eastern Partnership was designed to tie the Eastern neighbors to the EU, keep Russia out, and EU membership off the table. These objectives have been achieved—but the region has become neither more stable nor secure.
A major Georgian international project, Anaklia port, is being threatened by a domestic political row. Abuse of informal power is hurting Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.
In both the Caucasus and the Western Balkans, infrastructure and logistics will supplant normative goals such as EU membership as pathways to peaceful cooperation.
A successful transition in Armenia will offer a model for other aspiring democracies to chart a multipolar course. There is no better time to use diplomacy and foreign aid to support it.
Bordered by great powers but with their own distinct cultures, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia lie at the crossroads of Asia and Europe. In his book, The Caucasus: An Introduction, Thomas de Waal explains this fascinating region.
Abkhazia, Transdniestria, and northern Cyprus exist on maps but are not full nation states. Life goes on, but it is all a little more complicated than elsewhere in the world.
The three South Caucasian countries have found a way to manage their relationship with Russia. If their leaders do nothing stupid to alienate their own populations, they stand a good chance of navigating 2019 without a confrontation with Moscow.
Georgian society has been politically divided for years, so the heated tone of the recent presidential election was not all that surprising. Increasingly entrenched political polarization, however, would complicate the consolidation of Georgian democracy
Abkhazia, Transdniestria, and northern Cyprus, three unrecognized statelets in Europe that arose during conflicts in the twentieth century, have endured for decades. Despite many problems, they are self-governing and stable, and they show no signs of collapsing.
This new edition of The Caucasus is a thorough update of an essential guide that has in-troduced thousands of readers to a complex region.
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