scholarly journals Participation of Russia and Turkey in the Political Processes of the South Caucasus (1918)

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-176
Author(s):  
Karine Ambartsumyan ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
Political Processes

In the mirror of transitology: The politics of power alternation in the Caucasus and Central Asia

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 7-42
Author(s):  
S. A. Pritchin
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Ruling Elites ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Post Soviet Space

In 2021 the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus celebrate the 30th anniversary of independence. According to the paradigm of transitology, the political development of a state since the departure from the authoritarian regime entails progressive liberalization and democratization of political processes. And, in accordance with the predominant theoretical approaches, the post-Soviet states were expected to follow this path. However, a closer look at the specifi c scenarios of power alternation in the Central Asia and the South Caucasus provides a much more mixed picture: here the change of ruling elites took very diff erent forms and shapes. The choice of scenario for the transfer of power was always determined by a complex combination of internal and external factors, including the nature and characteristics of the political system of a particular state, its ethnic com-position, the socio-economic situation and external environment. Nevertheless, it is possible to discern several key scenarios: a ‘revolutionary’ scenario, which implies a violent change of power; an intra-elite consensus; transition of power to a successor; a hereditary transmission of power; democratic elections; a resigna-tion of a president. A comparative analysis of the political processes unfolding in the region over the past 30 years shows that even institutionally the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus are not ready yet for a competition policy. Moreover, the latter is generally viewed by their leaders as a threat to both the stability of the state and to the interests of the ruling elites. To this may be added the expansion of diff erent informal, archaic political practices across the post-Soviet space. The latter include the sacralization of power, when national interests are equated with the interests of the ruling clan and the whole national identity is built up around this nexus. All this shows the limits of classical transitology theory when it comes to political transformations in the post-Soviet space, which it is unable to explain, yet alone to predict their possible future development. Thus, there is a strong need to develop new theoretical frameworks that would better accommodate particularities of the regional political systems.

Political processes in the post-Soviet space: new trends and old problems

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
Post Soviet Space

The authors of the book analyze domestic political processes and international relations in the post-Soviet space. They examine the balance of political forces in Belarus after the presidential elections in August 2020, and transformations of political systems in Ukraine and Moldova. The main features of formation of the political institutions in the countries of South Caucasus and Central Asia and the latest trends in their devel-opment are analyzed. Attention is paid to the Karabakh and Donbass conflicts. The book examines the policy of major non-regional actors (USA, EU, China, Turkey) in the post-Soviet space. The results of develop-ment of the EAEU have been summed up. The role in the political processes in the post-Soviet space of a number of international organizations and associations (the CIS, the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the CSTO etc.) is revealed.

scholarly journals Il sostegno esterno ufficiale agli stati de facto nel Caucaso del sud

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Comai
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Pension Funds ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
South Ossetia ◽  
De Facto States ◽  
International Status

De facto states in the South Caucasus are supported by a patron: Russia in the case of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Armenia in the case of Nagorno Karabakh. In spite of the contested international status of these territories, assistance to de facto states is often fully formalised, and relevant details are included in budget laws as well as documents issued by pension funds. This article presents relevant data and sources, and highlights the importance of taking them in consideration to inform analyses on the political economy of these territories, as well as to develop policies of engagement.

HISTORICAL CONDITIONS OF ETHNIC AND POLITICAL CONFLICTS IN SOUTH CAUCASUS – SELECTED PROBLEMS

2012 ◽  
Vol 164 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-257
Author(s):  
Paweł OLSZEWSKI
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
South Ossetia ◽  
Imperial Russia ◽  
National Movements ◽  
Soviet Russia ◽  
The 19Th Century

The main subject of this article is the presentation of the historical backgrounds of the contemporary conflicts over the Mountainous Karabagh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The author describes the history of these regions from the beginning of the 19th century till 1992. The conquest of the South Caucasus by Imperial Russia in the 19th century resulted in the immigrations of Armenians to the Mountainous Karabagh, Ossetians to South Ossetia and Georgians to Abkhazia. These immigrations completely changed the ethnic compositions of these region. The Russian authorities supported the immigrations of pro-Russian Armenians and Ossetians.The political situation in these regions changed in 1918, when the independence of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan was declared. South Ossetia and Abkhazia were parts of independent Georgia, and the Mountainous Karabagh was dependent on Azerbaijan. Ossetians and Abkhazians resisted the Georgian authorities and Karabagh Armenians fought against Azerbaijan’s rule.After the conquest of the South Caucasus by Soviet Russia in 1920-1921, the Mountainous Karabagh remained part of Soviet Azerbaijan, and South Ossetia and Abkhazia remained part of Soviet Georgia. The Autonomous Oblast of Nagorno-Karabagh was created in the Mountainous Karabagh in 1923. The authorities of the Mountainous Karabagh were dominated by Karabagh Armenians and this region was practically independent of Soviet Azerbaijan. A similar situation was in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, especially after 1956.The development of Abkhazian and Ossetian national movements at the end of the 1980s led to the situation in which Abkhazians and South Ossetians claimed the political autonomy of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, and then the independence of these regions. The Georgian authorities were against these claims, as they considered these regions to constitute the historical parts of Georgia. The political hostility between Georgia and South Ossetia resulted in South Ossetian-Georgian armed fighting in January 1991, and South Ossetia proclaimed its independence in November 1991. Moreover, the political conflict between the Georgian government and the Abkhazian authorities in the first half of 1992 turned into open war in August 1992.Karabagh Armenians claimed the incorporation of the Mountainous Karabagh into Soviet Armenia because of historical, ethnic, cultural and regional connections between the Mountainous Karabagh and Armenia. These claims were very strong from the end of 1980s, but Azerbaijan’s communist authorities and the Azerbaijan anti-communist movement wanted to retain the Karabagh region in Azerbaijan. The hostility between the local Armenian and Azerbaijan population of the Mountainous Karabagh turned into armed fighting in 1989. The Mountainous Karabagh proclaimed its independence in December 1991.

Political rule and violent conflict: Elections as ‘institutional mutation’ in Nagorno-Karabakh

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 153-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Smolnik
Keyword(s):  
Violent Conflict ◽  
Specific Character ◽  
The South ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Insufficient Attention ◽  
De Facto States ◽  
Violent Conflicts

The article analyzes political rule in an entity affected by violent conflict. Aiming at contributing to the study of the South Caucasus ‘de-facto states’, it is argued that so far insufficient attention has been paid to the influence the persistent violent conflicts have had on political processes inside these entities. To substantiate the argument three elections in the de-facto state of Nagorno-Karabakh are scrutinized. The analysis reveals that contrary to prevalent classifications the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not frozen, but that indeed the persistent violent conflict constitutes a significant factor that helps us account for the specific character of political rule in Nagorno-Karabakh.

scholarly journals INFORMATION ABOUT GEORGIAN KINGDOM IN THE WORK AN-NASAVI

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-131
Author(s):  
Dmitry Timokhin
Keyword(s):  
Political Development ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Spheres Of Influence ◽  
History Of ◽  
Mongol Empire ◽  
Oriental Studies

The Khwarazmian conquest and domination within the South Caucasus had a major impact on the political history of the region, which reduced the influence of the Georgian Kingdom – the strongest political entity in these lands. Experts claim that military and political activity of Jalal ad-Din Manguberdi in this region is the main reason why he joined the Mongol Empire in 1230s’ without resisting the Mongol conquerors. One of the most valuable sources, describing the Khwarazmian invasion to the East Caucasus and the history of Jalal ad-Din Manguberdi’s empire in 1225-1231, is the work of an-Nasawi “Sirat as-sultan Jalal ad-Din Manguberdi”. This historical source is important for understanding the features of political development of the Georgian Empire as the main political opponent of the Khwarazmian kingdom. However, there has been no special study of an-Nasawi’s work as a source on the history of the Georgian kingdom nor in domestic neither in foreign oriental studies. This paper intends to analyze not only the amount of information, provided by an-Nasawi on the Kingdom of Georgia in the course of his description of the Khwarazmian conquest in the South Caucasus, but also some features of said description, and author’s characteristics. Special attention is paid to those lacunas in the description of the South Caucasus, which can be observed in an-Nasawi’s work compared to other historical sources (in the Arabic-Persian, Georgian and Armenian languages). It is equally important to understand the extent to which the author pays attention to the detailed description of the political and military opponent of Jalal ad-Din Manguberdi’s empire, which is the Kingdom of Georgia. It is also important to find out how an-Nasawi pictured and how he reflected in his work the war between Khwarazmian kingdom and the Georgian Empire: as a conflict over territories and spheres of influence or as a religious, even inter-ethnic one.

scholarly journals ON THE ISSUE OF AZERBAIJANI-RUSSIAN RELATIONS IN THE 18TH- BEGINNING OF THE 19TH CENTURY IN THE WORKS OF THE AZERBAIJANI HISTORIAN F.M.ALIYEV

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 573-585
Author(s):  
Marziya S. Iskenderova
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Critical Assessment ◽  
The Political ◽  
Historical Science ◽  
The South ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Trade Relations ◽  
The 19Th Century

In the article is attempted to make a historiographic analysis on the issue of Azerbaijani-Russian relations in the 18th-19th centuries in the works of the prominent Azerbaijani historian F.M.Aliyev, who laid the foundation for the development of this direction of historical science. The study of factors that influenced the development of extended Azerbaijani-Russian trade relations in the specified period is considered reasonably and objectively. A critical assessment is given of the tendentious approach to the idea of the dominant Russian orientation in Azerbaijan and the pressure of Soviet ideological postulates is revealed. In the article are traced the political and economic interests of Russia in the South Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, which served as the basis for the implementation of its aggressive policy in the region. Emphasis is placed on the geostrategic and economic position of Azerbaijan as the most important factor in the large-scale plans of Russia. The position of F.Aliyev is revealed in relation to the dominant in the policy of Russia of its own interests in the South Caucasus as a whole, and in Azerbaijan in particular.

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