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Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan and the breakaway territories within them constitute one of the most diverse and challenging regions on earth, intimidating the first-time visitor with their multi-layered history, ethnic complexity, and seemingly intractable conflicts. Over the last few years, the South Caucasus has captured international attention again because of its role in disputes between the West and Russia, its unresolved ethnic conflicts, and its role as a crucial energy transport corridor to Europe. The Caucasus is an essential guide to the region, covering its history, Russia's role there from tsarist times to the Soviet era, its energy politics, and Georgia's extraordinary recent past from the 2003 Rose Revolution to the Five-Day War of 2008.

Michael Barr explores the complex and covert networks of power at work in one of the world's most prosperous countries – the city-state of Singapore. He argues that the contemporary networks of power are a deliberate project initiated and managed by Lee Kuan Yew – former prime minister and Singapore's 'founding father' – designed to empower himself and his family. Barr identifies the crucial institutions of power - including the country's sovereign wealth funds, and the government-linked companies – together with five critical features that form the key to understanding the nature of the networks. He provides an assessment of possible shifts of power within the elite in the wake of Lee Kuan Yew's son, Lee Hsien Loong, assuming power, and considers the possibility of a more fundamental democratic shift in Singapore's political system.

Taking history and culture of the Caucasus as starting point, state building and conflict resolution processes in the North and South Caucasus are analysed from an international legal and political perspective. Development of the rule of law is here central.

The Caucasus is an updated version of an essential guide that has introduced thousands of readers to a complex and fascinating region. Thomas de Waal gives a brief and stimulating portrait of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, their multi-layered history, seemingly intractable conflicts and complex politics.

This article explains why it is so difficult to achieve peace in Nagorno-Karabakh and what factors prevent the peaceful resolution of the conflict. This conflict is very difficult to resolve because the conflicting parties have contradictory geopolitical interests and cannot achieve consensus during negotiations. We have to take into account Russia’s geopolitical interests in South Caucasus that Kremlin is interested in freezing this conflict to weaken both states, Azerbaijan and Armenia, and bring them back to Russia’s orbit. Moscow aims to establish firm control over South Caucasus which was viewed in the past as a ‘Russian backyard’. Russia still views South Caucasus as its zone of influence and tries to bring this region back into Russia’s orbit.

This is the only book since the fall of the Soviet Union to analyze the security of the newly emerged independent states in the strategically vital region of Central Asia and the Caucasus. This insightful work maps out the possibilities and dangers that lie ahead for the nations of Central Asia and the Caucasus. The book analyzes the current security situation and clarifies its historical context, identifying the factors that have shaped the security of these young nations since their independence. It also examines the parameters—political, economic, ethnic, energy, and military—that will decide the security of the region in the future. The book's author tells the whole story behind the headlines when he discusses, for example, the real reason for the \"wine war\" of 2006, when Russia banned imports of Georgian wine for \"health reasons, \" or when explaining the impact of the expanding American presence—both political and military—after September 11. Conflict and Security in Central Asia and the Caucasus is a primer for those who want to know more about this strategic region and essential reading for all students of world affairs.

This article examines the complex relationships between Iran, Azerbaijan, and Israel and attempts to provide an explanation for Azerbaijan’s greater inclination toward Israel than Iran. It analyzes Iran’s view of the relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan in the larger South Caucasus context, taking into account historical background, present events, and future predictions. Using a wide range of geopolitical analyses and sources, the study aims to understand the manifold variables that impact Iran’s attitude toward Azerbaijan’s alignment with Israel. From a theoretical perspective, the article explores the strategic features of this triangular connection by means of a neorealist paradigm. It applies game theory in order to assess the many strategic alternatives accessible to Iran, Azerbaijan, and Israel, emphasizing the reasons for Azerbaijan’s inclination towards Israel. The study improves our knowledge of the complicated dynamics underlying Azerbaijan’s preference for Israel over Iran, as well as the broader ramifications for the South Caucasus region, by analyzing the interactions between the variables at play. It seeks to highlight the historical, geopolitical, and strategic factors that contribute to Azerbaijan’s alignment with Israel over Iran, as well as the effect of this alignment on the geopolitical dynamics of the South Caucasus region.

This book aims to highlight the efforts by the international community to facilitate solutions to the conflicts in the South Caucasus, and focuses particularly on the existing challenges to these efforts. The South Caucasus region has long been roiled by the lingering ethno-national conflicts—Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Abkhazia and South Ossetia conflicts within Georgia—that continue to disrupt security and stability in the entire region. Throughout different phases of the conflicts the international community has shown varying degrees of activism in conflict resolution. For clarity purposes, it should be emphasized that the notion of “international community” will be confined to the relevant organizations that have palpable share in the process—the UN, the OSCE, and the EU—and the states that have the biggest impact on conflict resolution and the leverage on the conflicting parties—Russia, Turkey, and the United States.

Driven by an increased interest in enhancing connectivity, great powers are in the competition to implement their transportation projects. Meanwhile, small states located in the crossroad of the transportation routes are offered with benefits while facing several challenges. In this regard, the current article studies three major transportation initiatives in the South Caucasus region from both political and economic perspectives. The article will try to analyze how these might challenge the regional hegemony of Russia. Hereinafter, by looking at the case of Azerbaijan, the role of small states throughout this process is identified.