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ZOiS Caucasus Network Newsletter
April 2025 (10)
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Artikel
Georgien am Kipppunkt
Stefan Meister
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Korruption, Repression, Gewalt: Das Land im Kaukasus rutscht in den Autoritarismus ab, Richtung Moskau, weg von Brüssel. Steht die EU davor, Tiflis als Partner zu verlieren?
Klicken Sie hier für den Artikel.
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Article
What Is It with Hope? Explorations with Young Azerbaijani Left-Wing Democrats
Veronika Pfeilschifter
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Article
Georgia and Russia: “On the Same Train” With the Occupant
Sonja Katharina Schiffers
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The Kremlin denies sovereignty and territorial integrity not only to Ukraine but also to Georgia. But unlike Ukraine, the ruling Georgian Dream party follows the Russian playbook and uses the Russian threat to maintain authoritarian power.
Find the article here.
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ZOiS Spotlight 05/2025
Being Left-Wing: What Does It Mean for Young Women in Armenia?
Veronika Pfeilschifter
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Left-wing and feminist ideas don’t have it easy in Armenia’s patriarchal society. For young women – as a new study shows – being left-wing is associated mainly with feelings of rage, fear and disappointment. At the same time, hope and solidarity play a major role in their struggle for social change.
Find the Spotlight here.
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Podcast: Roundtable Osteuropa 51
Ausgeträumt in Georgien? Die Proteste gegen den Demokratieabbau und den Anti-EU-Kurs in der Analyse
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In Georgien protestieren Menschen seit Monaten ununterbrochen gegen den Rückbau demokratischer Institutionen und Rechtsstaatlichkeit. Die Regierung geht mit Gewalt und Repressionen gegen Opposition und Zivilgesellschaft vor. Was steckt hinter der antiwestlichen Rhetorik der Regierungspartei Georgischer Traum und ihrer Annäherungspolitik an Russland? Welchen Rückhalt findet diese Politik in einer Gesellschaft, die seit Jahren mehrheitlich für einen EU-Beitritt ist; und seit dem Krieg mit Russland 2008 alles andere als russlandfreundlich ist?
Klicken Sie hier für den Podcast.
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Analysis
The Political and Cultural Future of Karabakh Armenians
Ivaylo Dinev and Nadja Douglas
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The Azerbaijani military offensive in September 2023 with the aim of reintegrating the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh led to a mass exodus of almost the entire de facto state’s population of ethnic Armenians. Today, at least one in every 30 people living in Armenia is a refugee from Nagorno-Karabakh. There are many practical issues involved in integrating them into Armenian society. But what has happened to their political and cultural destiny since they were uprooted from their native land, and what will happen in the future? In our paper, we first examine the current situation of the displaced people with regard to their integration into Armenian society. We then in the second part of the contribution shed light on the political views, perceptions of the conflict, and personal experiences of Karabakh Armenians. We rely on unique survey data from Nagorno-Karabakh, with two waves in 2011 (N = 800) and 2020 (N = 820), in order to delineate prior patterns and self-positioning. Moreover, we compare respondents’ views per socio-demographic factors and lived experience. Based on the findings, we draw conclusions on prospects for integration and, more broadly, for the cultural and political future of Karabakh Armenians.
Find the analysis here.
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Expert*innenstimme
Georgiens Ausstieg aus dem EU-Beitrittsprozess
Julia Langbein
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Die Verlautbarung, dass die Regierung die Verhandlungen mit der EU über einen Beitritt bis Ende 2028 aussetzen werde, sorgt in Georgien für anhaltende Proteste. Julia Langbein ordnet den Schritt für uns ein und erörtert mögliche Reaktionen der EU.
Klicken sie hier für Artikel.
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Expert*innenstimme
Stopp der EU-Beitrittsperspektive in Georgien: Auswirkungen auf Bildung und Migration
Diana Bogishvilli
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In Georgien protestieren Tausende Menschen gegen die Entscheidung der Partei „Georgischer Traum“, die Beitrittsverhandlungen mit der EU vorerst auszusetzen. Dies könnte verheerende Folgen für die Bildungschancen junger Menschen im Land haben und die Migration verstärken. Eine Einschätzung von Diana Bogishvili.
Klicken Sie hier für den Artikel.
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Meet the Author | Hans Gutbrod
‘The term genocide risks conflating what are often very different experiences’
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LaenderAnalysen (Caucasus Analytical Digest)
Georgia's Civic Sphere in Times of Fundamental Rupture
Najmin Kamilsoy, Veronika Pfeilschifter
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This special issue aims to contextualize the enactment of the law "on transparency of foreign influence,” or the “foreign agents law,” in Georgia with a particular focus on the institutional and discursive dynamics as well as the protest mobilizations that have emerged in response. The contributions in this issue examine four interconnected topics: Georgia’s state-NGO relations amid democratic backsliding; dynamics of protests and practices of interactions related to inclusion and exclusion; governmental discourses and moral defamation of civil society and the LGBTQI community; protest attitudes and behavior between 2023 and 2024.
Find the analysis here.
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Illustrated book
Gazes into Trade: Marketplaces in Eurasia
Philippe Rudaz, Susanne Fehlings, Hamlet Melkumyan, Hasan H. Karrar and Ketevan Khutsishvili
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This book represents the culmination of a six-year interdisciplinary research project on informal trade and marketplaces in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Spanning from 2016 to 2022, the project involved a dedicated team of researchers gathering an array of data, ethnographic material, and personal interviews across Georgia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and China.
Bazaars and informal and semiformal marketplaces serve not just as economic hubs but as vital social spaces that encapsulate various layers of community life and interaction. The photographs in this book, while not the work of professional photographers, are presented with a commitment to authenticity and a focus on the realities of daily life in these markets. Aesthetics, though considered, are secondary to the honest depiction of the diverse aspects of informal trade explored in the different chapters (infrastructure, precarity, gender, to cite a few).
As you turn the pages, you are invited to delve into the visual sociology of marketplaces, to appreciate the complexities of informal economies, and to recognize the profound impact of these spaces on the cultural and economic landscapes of the regions they serve.
Find the book here.
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Open Access Academic Comic
Bazaars in Central Asia & the Caucasus
Susanne Fehlings, Hasan H. Karrar and Krish Raghav
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Armenia on the way to Europe?
ZOiS Caucasus Network
May, 06 2025
online discussion
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In March 2025, a large majority of the Armenian parliament voted in favour of starting the EU accession process. Since losing control of the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan, partly due to Russia's non-intervention, there has been a political distancing from the Kremlin. Armenia has increasingly turned to the West, especially on security issues, and has taken steps to take the existing partnership agreement with the EU (CEPA) to a new level. At the same time, being a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Armenia remains heavily dependent on Russia, both economically and politically.
In the context of developments in Georgia, the peace agreement currently under discussion between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan's increased strategic role since the Russian war of aggression, the EU has once again turned its attention to the South Caucasus region. Armenia plays a pivotal role here, as it seems to be emerging as a new 'island of democracy' in an increasingly autocratic environment.
The online discussion will address the following questions: To what extent are pro-European tendencies gaining popularity in Armenia? What are the goals of the Armenian government in pursuing EU accession plans, given the country's increasing security isolation and the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2026? What is the role of civil society in this context? How do young people perceive the current developments and dynamics?
Speakers:
Richard Giragosian, Director, Regional Studies Centre, Yerevan
Yevgenya Jenny Paturyan, Associate Professor, and Neva Karapetyan, American University of Armenia, Yerevan
Franziska Smolnik, Senior Fellow, SWP, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin
Moderation: Tsypylma Darieva, Senior Researcher, ZOiS Berlin
For more information click here.
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Armenien & Aserbaidschan - Mit ultimativen Forderungen & Drohungen zum Friedensvertrag?
Deutsch-Armenische Gesellschaft
May, 06 2025
online discussion
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Im Rahmen der Berliner Reihe der Deutsch-Armenischen Gesellschaft - Digital findet am Dienstag, 06. Mai 2025, 19 Uhr, der Zoom-Talk mit Martin Sonneborn, MdEP und Dustin Hoffmann, Jurist, Referent im Europäischen Parlament in Brüssel, über Armenien & Aserbaidschan - Mit ultimativen Forderungen & Drohungen zum Friedensvertrag?
Anmeldungen bis zum 05. Mai 2025, 14 Uhr, über info@deutscharmenischegesellschaft.de
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Research Project “ProTest”
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This project, "Protest as a Democracy Test (ProTest)", explores the relationship between protest and democracy in a time of increasing global democratic decline. We aim to understand how changes in democracy are influencing the way people protest. Our research will look at protest culture, specifically the types of protests used and how these protests are communicated. We will examine how these aspects of protest are changing due to shifts in democracy in different countries.
To do this, we will study the roles of:
- People who organise and take part in protests, looking at their actions and how they present their messages.
- Governments and authorities, and the methods they use to respond to protests.
- News media and online platforms, and how they shape our understanding of protests.
- Ordinary citizens from different age groups, to understand their views on protest.
We will compare protest across different countries and types of democratic systems. Ultimately, this project aims to provide new insights into how protest works and its impact on democracy, to encourage discussion between different groups, and to suggest ways to strengthen democratic processes.
For more Information click here.
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The Aligned Freedom Project (AFP) explores the role of analog photography as a creative, processual mediator between two historically divided cultures by delving into individual conceptions of freedom, ergo narratives of freedom. For this, it combines a „photovoice“-approach and in-depth interviews.
With Georgian and Russian participants, the AFP aims to capture and collectively visualize what „FREEDOM“ denotes on a day-to-day and conceptual level. This aims to narrativize freedom for mutual, intercultural understanding and mobilize it as a vessel for resilient futures.
For more Information click here.
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Call for Papers
Resistance and Opposition Beyond Institutions: Strategies and Alliances of Parliamentary and non-Parliamentary Opposition Actors in Post-Communist Europe
Université de Fribourg
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The workshop aims to bring together scholars working on single case or comparative studies looking at forms, strategies and resources of non-parliamentary opposition and its potential cooperation with parliamentary opposition. We aim to discuss and provide conceptual and terminological clarity about opposition actors in different political settings, their activities and especially their roles within the respective political systems. We are interested in contributions focusing on democracies and authoritarianisms of post-communist Europe (including South Caucasus and Russia). The workshop aims to produce a proposal for a special issue in a high-impact journal.
For more Information click here.
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Call for German Speaking Journalists
Call for German Speaking Journalists - Invitation to an Information and Dialogue Visit to Armenia
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
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Against the backdrop of the global rise of international conflicts, the South Caucasus, its affairs and issues remain largely marginal to the attention of European media and policymakers alike․ Following the 2020 Karabakh War, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the expulsion of the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh, the future of the region remains uncertain. Even though Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to the content of the Peace Agreement, whether and when the will the document be signed remains a question. Meanwhile escalations on the border periodically remind of the uneasy path that is still ahead. Possible changes in Armenia’s foreign policy, soaring relations with Russia, and its rapprochement with the EU hint that all stakeholders have a long and unknown road ahead. In these circumstances, it is often difficult to fully grasp and report on such complex topical issues. The Representation of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Armenia invites Germanspeaking journalists and correspondents to participate in a study visit to Armenia in order to better familiarize themselves with the country’s and region’s issues that are not only topical for the local scene but also consequential for the wider European security debates.
The working language of the visit is English.
During the study visit, the journalists will be provided the opportunity to ▪ Meet and discuss with the country’s leading political experts, state officials, MPs, representatives of civil society, human rights activists, etc.
▪ Visit editorial offices of leading Armenian media outlets specialized in everyday news, analysis, investigative journalism, and security-related coverage.
▪ Visit areas of conflict, settlements and people affected by the recent military escalations.
▪ Connect with local journalists.
▪ Other opportunities for preparing stories, articles, and documentaries.
The costs of the program (travel expenses, accommodation, meals, and other program-related expenses) will be covered by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Duration: 21-27 June 2025 How to apply: To participate in the visit, aspiring candidates should send their CVs and links to samples of their Works/portfolio to armenia(at)fes.de by 7th of Mai 2025, with the subject line “Application Media Visit.” For questions and inquiries regarding any aspect of the program, do not hesitate to contact narek.sukiasyan(at)fes.de
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If you want to receive more regular updates on events and activities from other members of the network or would like to circulate your own publication or event, please contact us here.
All other activities of the ZOiS Caucasus Network can be found on our website.
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