Snap Elections in Azerbaijan's Political Quagmire In December 2023, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev surprisingly announced snap presidential elections. Accordingly, Azerbaijani voters will go to the polls on February 7 instead of April 2025. In their analysis, Hamida Giyasbayli provides insights into the complex domestic and foreign policy background of these elections, which clearly signal one thing: the consolidation of authoritarian power. By Hamida Giyasbayli
On the Margins of Citizenship and States: Refugees of Chechnya in Pankisi The article briefly examines the history and experience of Chechen and Kist refugees who have arrived in Georgia since the late 1990s. It also evaluates state policies towards Kist and Chechen refugees from the 2000s till the present day. By Mariam Shalvashvili
Uneven Development and the Airport: Cabin Crew Labour in Kutaisi The article discusses the peculiarities of capitalist development in Kutaisi, Georgia’s fourth largest city. It offers the author’s observations on the city’s uneven development, labour migration and tourism. By Dato Laghidze
Do We Have a Right to the City? Evolution of Tbilisi’s Urban Movements Discussing the example of Tbilisi, the author analyses some of the major challenges facing contemporary urban policy in Georgia, as well as the evolution of ideas and forms of protest that urban movements deploy to address them. By Anano Tsintsabadze
Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia: Policy Options for Germany and the EU Over 50,000 Armenians have already fled Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia following Azerbaijan's recent military offensive. Despite ongoing negotiations, further escalations could follow. What options do Germany and the EU have? By Dr. Sonja Schiffers and Walter Kaufmann
Self- Government in Georgia – Imitating Change Without Purpose? The article examines the current state of self-government in Georgia - an area that has received relatively less attention in the process of forming the agenda of modern Georgian public life. By Dr. David Losaberidze
The backbone of democracy: Robin Wagener on civil societies in the South Caucasus Robin Wagener, member of the German Bundestag, became the Federal Foreign Office’s coordinator for inter-societal co-operation with the South Caucasus, the Republic of Moldova and Central Asia on 1 March 2023. In this conversation, we are going to be talking about his new task and the condition of civil societies in the South Caucasus. By Dr. Sonja Schiffers
The Rioni Valley Protest and the Potential to Transform 'Citizenship' (literature review) The article below will touch upon the potential for the emergence and self-creation of a new political citizenship in the context of the Rioni Valley protest. By Lika Jalagania
Soviet nostalgia in Azerbaijan: was it better before? Nostalgia for the Soviet era is out of fashion in Azerbaijan, just as it is in the rest of the post-Soviet countries. Looking back at the old days with sympathy is rarely encouraged, if not shunned upon, yet there are still those that do. The authors of this article tried to find out what makes them miss the USSR. By Nika Musavi and Araz Bagirov
Disappointed in Russia: Armenia's security disillusionment After Armenia's defeat in the war in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, foreign and security policy developments in the small South Caucasian republic are happening at an unprecedented pace. Looking to the West for additional security guarantees, Armenia has inevitably aroused the displeasure of its strategic security partner, Russia. It is still difficult to assess what consequences this will have. By Irina Ghulinyan-Gerz