Georgian own goal

The law on agents greets us every year: A controversial project is to be passed in the Georgian parliament at the second attempt

In March, the Georgian national soccer team's historic qualification for the European Championship in Germany briefly made us forget the deep rifts that have been running through the political landscape in Georgia for years. However, when the ruling Georgian Dream party pulled an agent law out of the drawer at the beginning of April, which had to be withdrawn last year after massive protests, the rifts are back, and they seem deeper than ever. At first glance, the erratic initiative, just a few months before the parliamentary elections in Georgia, seems like a classic own goal.

Nothing new in Baku

Incumbent Ilham Aliyev was declared the winner of the presidential elections in Azerbaijan with an overwhelming result. Only the president's vote itself caused a stir.

The start of the "super election year" 2024 had hardly any surprises in store. According to the official results, the incumbent Ilham Aliyev emerged as the clear winner of the early presidential elections in Azerbaijan on February 7. With this election victory, Aliyev has further consolidated his power and will remain in office for another seven years. Even before the election, his fifth re-election was considered a mere formality, as it was a rehearsed simulation of democracy in a state that has been firmly ruled by an authoritarian regime for three decades. Beyond the expected course of events, the president's own vote was of extraordinary symbolic value.

Super election year starts super boring

At the beginning of February, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will be re-elected for a further seven years in office

One of the first votes in the “super election year” of 2024 will take place in the South Caucasus: Early presidential elections are scheduled for 7 February in Azerbaijan. In early December, President Ilham Aliyev, who has been in office since 2003, surprisingly signed a decree bringing forward the vote by 14 months. There was initially no official justification for this decision, which led to intense speculation. The leading opposition parties announced that they would again boycott the ballot. Nevertheless, there are a total of seven candidates, all of whom (have to) praise the incumbent.

Einschätzungen zur aktuellen Situation in Bergkarabach

Stephan Malerius, Leiter des Regionalprogramms Politischer Dialog Südkaukasus, äußert sich in den folgenden Interviews zur aktuellen Situation in Bergkarabach:

Sjunik: Between hope and fear - geopolitics under the burning glass

A political travelogue from Southern Armenia

Iran opened a consulate last year in Kapan, the administrative center of the Syunik region in southern Armenia. Russia has now announced that it intends to follow suit, and local sources said the Americans and French are also considering setting up consular posts in Kapan. If that were to happen, four major powers would have a diplomatic presence in a relatively remote small town in southern Armenia with a population of just over 40,000. On the one hand, all of this shows how important this part of the South Caucasus has become basically overnight - having previously been almost completely forgotten for decades. There is also now a growing awareness of the opportunities and dangers that the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan holds. A two-day trip to Syunik, to the southernmost point of Meghri on the Iranian border, was brimming with insights and insights.

Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan: Peace Agreement in Sight?

Under Western mediation, Armenia and Azerbaijan are moving closer to a historic peace treaty. But the road to an agreement remains rocky, the security situation fragile.

Washington, Brussels, Chișinău, Moscow - the variety of places where high-ranking representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan have met for diplomatic talks in recent weeks symbolizes the geopolitical importance, but also the explosive nature of the ongoing peace process. Weakened by its war of aggression in Ukraine, Russia's traditional influence as a "spoiler" of a sustainable peace between the two Caucasus republics is waning. For the West, and especially for the European Union, this opens up new opportunities to distinguish itself as a political and security stakeholder in the South Caucasus.

30 Jahre diplomatische Beziehungen zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und Republik Armenien

Buch

Im Jahr 2022 initiierten die Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Deutsch-Armenischen Forum die Veröffentlichung eines Buches, das dem 30. Jahrestag der diplomatischen Beziehungen zwischen Deutschland und Armenien gewidmet ist.

PARALLEL LIFE

Fotokatalog

The catalogue was published in the frames of the “Parallel Life: Armenia, Ukraine” exhibition opened in December 2022 at HayArt Cultural Centre as a result of the cooperation between the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and 4 Plus Documentary Photography Center.

Podcast: Zwischen Aufschwung und Konflikt: Georgien und der Zuzug russischer Migranten

Der Leiter der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Südkaukasus Stephan Malerius durfte im Rahmen des Auslandsinfo Podcasts mit Gerrit Wilcke über die schwierige politische Situation vor Ort und das komplexe Verhältnis zwischen Georgien und Russland sprechen.

Armenia's youth perceptions of Russia's war in Ukraine and its possible consequences

Studie

Wir freuen uns, Ihnen die Ergebnisse der soziologischen Umfragen "Armenia's youth perceptions of Russia's war in Ukraine and its possible consequences" vorstellen zu können.