Conflict Transformation

The persisting “frozen” military conflicts surrounding the South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Nagorno Karabakh regions restrict sustainable economic and social development as well as the establishment of free democratic civil societies in the South Caucasus.

invited guest on the panel: Tamar Kochoradze, Pavlo Klimkin, Fransciska Smolnik and the moderator stefan meister

The International Dimension of Regional Conflicts: The cases of Georgia and Ukraine

Post-Soviet conflict zones have internal and external dimensions. Internally, countries have to deal with the IDPs, a constant threat of spillover effects from the disputed territories and the human dimension of conflicts. Externally, other players use these conflicts to manipulate and control the affected countries.

Publication

Stories of the South Caucasus. Special Edition

The publication is prepared in the frameworks of hbs Tbilisi and media platform "Netgazeti" cooperation project "Stories of the South Caucasus". It includes 22 articles divided into several chapters: History, International Context, Everyday Life and Politics, Chronicle, Trust and Peace building.

Social Links

Project and Events

Workshops on conflict transformation and peace building issues

(Closed project) From March 2019 Heinrich Boell Foundation Tbilisi Office supported a new project which aimed to hold workshops on conflict transformation and peacebuilding issues at four regional universities of Georgia.

News and Stories of the South Caucasus - 2019

(Ongoing Project) The Heinrich Boell Foundation Tbilisi Office continues its cooperation with Netgazeti within the framework of the project News and Stories of the South Caucasus.

All Projects and Events

Public Debates

Germany and the regional conflicts in Georgia

hbs Tbilisi Office hosted the public lecture by H.E. Hubert Knirsch, German Ambassador to Georgia "Germany and the regional conflicts in Georgia".

Russia's Hybrid Warfare in Ukraine and Georgia

Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Tbilisi Office - South Caucasus Region organized the public debate "Russia’s hybrid warfare in Ukraine and Georgia".

All debates on "Conflict Transformation"

Web Dossiers

The long shadow of one study: The story of village exchange ten years later

After completion of the Scholarship Program, hbs provided its alumni S. Rumyantsev and S. Huseynova with an additional opportunity to implement a joint project with colleagues from Armenia. One of the results of this collaboration was the book Beyond the Karabakh Conflict: The Story of Village Exchange written together with Arsen Hakobyan. Ten years later, the acquired experience has not lost its relevance for the authors. in Russian

By Sergey Rumyantsev and Sevil Huseynova

Dangerous Liaisons:Russia’s neighborhood policy in South Caucasus

Russia has its strategic interests in South Caucasus and tries to have a dominant position in the region. Its neighborhood policy comprised both hard and soft power tools that aim to increase influence over the countries of South Caucasus.

The legacy of the August War after 10 years: human’s burden

On occasion on 10-year anniversary of August war (2008) the South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation presents web-dossier, which includes analytical article by Giorgi Kanashvili, interview with civil activist Tamar Mearakishvili and 2 multimedia projects.

Dossier: What is the Equilibrium Point for Karabakh

Peace in the South Caucasus is highly valued. However, a long history of violent conflicts and deeply rooted territorial claims make this coveted peace hard to achieve. Conflict in Nagorny Karabakh does not promise a speedy resolution and does not appear to show any sign of transformation in political discussions taking place within the nations engaged in it.

Turkish-Armenian Dialogue

The State of Armenia-Turkey Relations

2018 is shaping up to be a consequential year for Turkey and Armenia. Both countries have been experiencing fundamental transformation of their social and political fabric. This short review discusses the influence of these changes on Armenia-Turkey relations. հայերեն

By Philip Gamaghelyan and Pinar Sayan

Performance “Linking our stories Beyond Borders” (2014)

(closed project) Breaking stereotypes, linking and humanizing the lives of people considered being “enemies” – this is the main reason why a group of young women from Armenia and Turkey have united.

Turkey-Armenia Journalists’ Dialogue Programme

In the fourth year of the programme, aiming to strengthen ties between journalists from Turkey and Armenia and to establish direct means of exchanging news sources, journalists, columnists, and bloggers from Armenia visited Turkey and learned in-depth about various issues on Turkey’s agenda.

Ani Dialogue II in Istanbul

After signs of a breakthrough in 2008 diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia are in a bottleneck again. At the same time there is increasing interest in both societies in overcoming legacies of the past, exchanging experiences with neighbors and aiming towards an open border. Since its inauguration in October 2010, the Ani Dialogue — organized by the HBF South Caucasus, the HBF Turkey and the Caucasus Institute in Armenia — is dedicated to bottom-up reconciliation and normalization of mutual ties between Turkey and Armenia.

Ani Dialogue kick-off conference reveals great potential in Turkish Armenian civil society cooperation

The first meeting of the Ani Dialogue has ended with great achievements in building relations and preparing the ground for future joint projects between the Turkish and Armenian civil society. A new bottom up process was inaugurated, which aims at contributing to a better understanding of both societies and, in a long term, to a relaxation in Armenian Turkish relations.

Series of seminars in Armenia

The Yerevan-based Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC) organized three one-day seminars in Vanadzor, Gyumri and Yeghegnadzor, with support from the South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation.

Football diplomacy and beyond. A breakthrough in Turkish Armenian relations

Can a football game change the history of a region? The luck of the draw put Turkey and Armenia in the same qualifying group for the FIFA World Cup of 2010. The countries had been locked in enmity since the 1990s, and the matches promised merely more of the same, if they were played at all. But leaders in both countries had been quietly moving toward a more constructive relationship.

Ansichten und Meinungen

8 Jahre sind vergangen seit Gurgen Margaryan von dem aserbaidschanischen Offizier Ramil Safarov ermordet wurde.

Wenn Mörder zu Volkshelden werden

Im Februar 2004 ermordete der aserbaidschanische Offizier Ramil Safarov während eines NATO-Seminars in Budapest seinen armenischen Kurskollegen Gurgen Markarian – des Nachts im Schlaf, mit 26 Axthieben.

Armenien: Verbrechen ohne Strafe? Die Safarow-Affäre

Soziale Netzwerke und Blogs, die wohl besser als Barometer der öffentlichen Meinung in Armenien dienen als die staatlich kontrollierten herkömmlichen Medien, kochten in den Tagen nach Safarows Freilassung vor Wut. Während sich der größte Zorn auf Aserbaidschan richtete, wurde auch das Verhalten der armenischen Regierung hinterfragt.

By Mikael Zolian

Aserbaidschan: Ein „Held“ unserer Zeit

Der jubelnde Empfang von Ramil Safarow fügt sich ein in die aserbaidschanische Politik der Radikalisierung gegenüber dem Nachbarland Armenien. Das autoritäre Regime braucht den Konflikt um Karabach-Berg wie die Luft zum Atmen und gefährdet damit zusehend eine friedliche Lösung.

By Sevil Huseynova

Viktor Orbán, Premierminister von Ungarn, im März 2012

Ungarn: Was sagt uns der Fall Safarow über das heutige Ungarn?

Die überraschende Auslieferung Safarows am 31. August 2012 und die Begnadigung nach seiner Ankunft in Baku hat die internationale Gemeinschaft schockiert und die armenisch-aserbaidschanischen Beziehungen schwer belastet. Die derzeitige ungarische Regierung zeigt, dass sie bei der Sicherung ihrer Wirtschaftsinteressen zu vielem bereit ist – wenn nötig auch im Widerspruch zu fundamentalen Menschenrechten.