On The Ground: The View From Georgia

Leksika Editor Steve Luber reports from Tbilisi, Georgia, on recent events and the population’s attitudes toward geopolitical circumstances. What are the defining issues, and is Georgia as pro-West as many believe?

Utility Bills and Deep Pockets: What #ElectricYerevan Really Means

Analysis of ElectricYerevan from Western and Russian media have largely mischaracterized the movement, but it is straightforward economic reasons that drive protestors’ frustrations and are subsequently subject to geopolitical maneuvering.

Exclusive Interview: Dr. Altay Goyushov

A visiting Azeri scholar has found some reprieve from Baku’s government and takes a moment to discuss with Leksika the political situation in Azerbaijan, the security dilemma facing the Aliyev regime, and some mistakes made in Western calculus toward the liberal opposition in Azerbaijan and elsewhere.

Azerbaijan’s Limited Options

Azerbaijan has sought to court Western states over the last two decades and secure their support in its frozen conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, but a worsening human rights track record and distractions elsewhere have encouraged Washington and European capitals to disengage.

Between Ukraine, Georgia: Moves and Countermoves

Faced with the same Moscow-dictated security landscape, both Kiev and Tbilisi face similar long-term foreign policy challenges. Several years after its own Russian-led invasion, Georgia illustrates that commiseration and mutual aid cannot change the situation without domestic reform as support.

Pro-Russian Militants: Moves and Countermoves

The allegiances in fractured Chechnya both for and against Moscow have had a resounding influence on the structure and composition of separatist volunteers in eastern Ukraine that, while unofficial, are well aligned with the Kadyrov government in Grozny and counter anti-Russian Chechens supporting Kiev.

Eye of the Storm: Georgia’s Renewed Relevance

With Russian attention focused on Ukraine, a Chechnya that threatens to erupt once again into violence, and the Islamic State to the south, Georgia has once again figured into US and NATO security calculus. But, will Tbilisi successfully exact defense aid and guarantees from the West this time around?

Charlie Goes to Chechnya: Moves and Countermoves

Following attacks in Grozny late last year, the Chechen republic’s leader has strongly opposed any Islamic militantism in the region, while the attacks on Charlie Hebdo and following world reactions has been met with an official outpouring of criticism for the cultural mindset that precipitated the attacks.

Terrorism and Counterterrorism after Charlie: Moves and Countermoves

In the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris, the over one million strong unity march accompanied displays of unity and cooperation internationally. Russia’s desire to engage positively on this issue accompanies a growing desire in Europe to normalize relations with Russia.

Designs on the North Caucasus: Moves and Countermoves

The future of the North Caucasus is increasingly uncertain and after years of suppression by Moscow, militant forces are taking the fight to Syria and Iraq, Ukraine, and back to the home front.