Global Security Watch-The Caucasus States

This insider perspective examines the main sources of security threat and political instability in the Caucasus states of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. Written from a multidisciplinary perspective, Global Security Watch-The Caucasus States is the first serious study to investigate the 21st-century security concerns raised by the Caucasus states of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia-states that interact with the Great Powers in a region that has become even more significant as a new energy corridor for the West. Following a review of the geographic and historical characteristics of the South Caucasus region, the book examines the political and security conditions of each Caucasus state, providing a highly detailed analysis of the political roots of security challenges, the key players, and the farthest-reaching effects of events and leaders. A final chapter summarizes the main security concerns of all three states for the future. Beyond the policy significance of this work, readers will find it useful for examining the relevance of the Clash of Civilization theory to a geographic region that led previous generations to formulate theories such as the "Great Game" and the "New Great Game." * Biographies of all major Azeri, Armenian, and Georgian leaders * Key documents such as the constitutions of all three Caucasus republics and the Nagorno-Karabakh Ceasefire Agreement * A chronology of major political events in each Caucasus republic from independence to the present * Tables and graphs of trade patterns * Maps and photographs * A glossary of hundreds of key terms such as "glasnost," "near abroad," and "sufism"