The Caucasus States

Abstract

This chapter examines the Caucasus states of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. It first discusses the Caucasus as a unique region within the Russian and Soviet empires, seen as those entities’ “own Orient,” and the place where the border into the “non-Christian” world is breached. Georgia’s strong desire for Europeanization is contrasted with Armenia’s more moderate pursuit, despite the two sharing similar levels of “intrinsic” Europeanization. Georgia’s peculiarly Euro-oriented elite, and Armenia’s historical and contemporary reliance on Russia as a protector of its survival and sovereignty, are invoked to explain this difference. Azerbaijan, a resource-rich state with the unique claim to be “the first democracy in the Muslim World,” has combined a nonaligned political and security policy with a strong effort to be identified as part of the European cultural-civilizational sphere.