My latest brief commentary for the Georgian publication Investor.ge, published in the October-November 2014 issue: “The South Caucasus: Regional Division and Divergence.” Summary For the three countries of the South Caucasus, the priority has always been to overcome the limits of geography. And for Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, the preference has been to look beyond the regional confines of the South Caucasus. But never before has the region been as divided as it is now, as the South Caucasus has become a strategic arena of competition and confrontation with Russia seeking to push back and push out European Union (EU) engagement. This confrontation is marked by the Russian-led Customs Union, or Eurasian Union, on the one side, as an instrument for Russian pressure and power, but based solely on short-term political pressure and economic coercion. And on the other side, the European Union offers a more seductive, incentive-based offer of Association Agreements and an Eastern Partnership. Yet beyond the broader geopolitical context, the confrontation is matched by a division of the region, based on a divergence of interests in three main areas: economic interests, political preference, and the imperative of security. investor.ge/article.php?art=9
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 10:02:17 +0000
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