The lecture and discussion will be devoted to the issue of European Neighbourhood Policy and Eastern Partnership in relation to South Caucasus region and to the respective countries. The attention will be focused on Georgia, as a country that signed the Association Agreement and the DCFTA with the EU and now it is a candidate country. Then we will discuss Armenia as a country which is a member of Eurasian Economic Union and the CSTO, but in the past this country also negotiated with the EU about the Association Agreement. In 2017 Armenia signed CEPA agreement with the EU. At the same time Armenia experienced certain important turbulences as to the internal political situation (the so-called Velvet Revolution in 2018 etc.).

Azerbaijan, on the other hand, represents a specific actor in the region, as to its relations with the EU in the context of the Eastern Partnership and also in the other contexts (the context of trade-economic relations and in the area of energy policy). Last but not least, the overall geo-strategic and security balance in the area was deeply influenced by the conflict for Nagorno Karabakh region in 2020-2023 and the (still unsolved) conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The involvement of various actors, both inside and also outside of South Caucasus region, into the conflict, will also represent a topic for discussion.

South Caucasus countries are often presented in regional perspective. On the other hand, the quality of relations between particular countries and the EU differ significantly, which raises a question, whether the EU should strive to invent some general strategy towards South Caucasus, or whether the EU should rather imply differentiated attitudes towards particular countries.

The role of the EU as an actor in relation to South Caucasus region is further complicated and challenged by active participation of other actors, especially Russia, but also Turkey, China (partially) and also regional actors (e.g. Iran). South Caucasus as a region on the "crossroads" among various geopolitical interests will also represent an important aspect, which will be dicussed during the seminar. 

The seminar will also include the discussion with the expert: Dr. Zinaida Bechná

Readings:

Bekiarova, Natalia (2019): "South Caucasus as a Region of Strategic Importance". In: International E-Journal of Advances in Social Sciences, Vol. V, Issue 14, August 2019, pp. 1016-1025.

Bidzina Lebanidze (2020): Resilience and democracy: Can a pragmatic EU still promote democracy in Georgia? Policy Brief. GIP. February 2020 / Issue #21.

Régis Genté (2022): Broken Dream: The oligarch, Russia and Georgia´s drift from Europe. ecfr.eu. Policy Brief. 21 December 2022. On-line: https://ecfr.eu/publication/broken-dream-the-oligarch-russia-and-georgias-drift-from-europe/

Kiril Krivosheev (2023): Could the New EU Mission Sideline Russia in Armenia-Azerbaijan Settlement? Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 16.02.2023. On-line: https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/89060

Pawel Stawarz (2020) "ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN IN THE ENP - MISSED OPPORTUNITIES?". Online Journal Modelling the New Europe 32:111-128. 

Recommended:

Georgian Institute of Politics (2020b): GIP presented the report "Georgia´s Implementation of 20 Eastern Partnership Deliverables for 2020", 15.7.2020. On-line: https://gip.ge/publication-post/georgias-implementation-of-20-eastern-partnership-deliverables-for-2020/

Samkharadze, N. (2020): Ethnic Minorities in the context of Georgia´s European Integration: Is there a Room for Scepticism? Georgian Institute of Politics. Policy brief. July 2020. On-line: http://gip.ge/ethnic-minorities-in-the-context-of-georgias-european-integration-is-there-a-room-for-skepticism/

Salome Minesashvili, "EU and Ethnic Minorities in Georgia: How to Counter Misinformation and Disruptive Communication", Policy Brief #29, Georgian Institute of Politics, July 2020.  

Givi Silagadze (2020)  Is Georgian Populism Eurosceptic? GIP Policy Memo. May 2020 / Issue # 36. 

Video: Conflict in Nagorno Karabakh in 2020: https://youtu.be/YU2v38hRRbg

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