Caucasus & Eastern Europe

The countries of the EU’s Eastern Partnership are key areas to European security. The three states of the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) and three countries sandwiched between the EU and Russia (Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine) have now been independent for 25 years, and display a wide variety of economic and political systems as well as foreign policy choices. The region lacks credible security arrangements, and is the subject of a growing geopolitical rivalry between the West and Russia. Four of the states – Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, have unresolved territorial conflicts on their territory, which form some of the leading challenges to European security.

ISDP’s activities in the Caucasus and Eastern Europe focuses on research and analysis on the political development and regional security in the region, in particular unresolved conflicts, relations with the EU and U.S., as well as Russian foreign policy in the region. Work on the Caucasus region is conducted within the framework of the Joint Center with the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute in Washington, D.C., including publication of the biweekly Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst, a leading sources of analysis on regional developments. ISDP’s Transnational Threats initiative also conducts research on organized crime in Eastern Europe and the Baltic Sea region.