CALL: 2012 Internship with Caucasus Edition

Internship: Editorial Assistant 
Deadline Extended to September 10! Please share on your page! 

Caucasus Edition: Journal of Conflict Transformation

About

Caucasus Edition: Journal of Conflict Transformation is an independent online publication that serves as a forum for scholars, practitioners, policy analysts and novice researchers to analyze as well as discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and issues related to it. The purpose of the publication is to contribute to the sustainable resolution of the conflict by developing and expanding the scholarship and encouraging diverse perspectives and analyses. Caucasus Edition also offers its readers a monthly news feed, reports, and analyses section from think tanks and media outlets that focus on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and other issues in the region.

Internship Description

Caucasus Edition is seeking a motivated individual who has a passion and interest in South Caucasus issues, conflict resolution and social media to help run its online-based publication. The internship offers an excellent opportunity for gaining experience in running a cross-border publication in collaboration with cross-conflict team and potential for publishing. The internships details are below:

Compensation: This internship is unpaid.

Location: home-based (anywhere) with internet connection and own computer

Number of hours: 5-10 hours of work per week.

Internship Period: September 15 - December 31, 2012 with possibility of extension

Responsibilities: 

- Populating and disseminating Caucasus Edition newsletter once per month (from the website content);

- Researching articles and publications each month on the subject of Nagorno Karabakh to post in Latest from the Region section

- Uploading content - including articles and content for Latest from the Region - to the website (wordpress platform)

- Creating PDF versions of monthly issues and uploading into the website (template provided)

- Disseminate newsletter and news issues on various listservs and social media such as Facebook, twitter;

- Occasionally participating in Skype call meetings with Editors

- Occasionally editing and copy-editing articles for the Journal issues.

Experience:

- Education and/or experience in conflict resolution;

- Strong technical skills using Word, PDFs as well as familiarity and experience with wordpress web platform;

- Experience with working with different social media tools;

- Strong writing/editing skills a plus.

- Experience and knowledge of Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and South Caucasus region preferred;

To apply for this internship, please submit a resume/CV and cover letter explaining your interest in the position to caucasusedition1@gmail.com by August 29, 2012.

DECLARATION: Karabakh-Conflict

I. We, two experts from the Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijani Republic, in anticipation of the OSCE Astana summit onl-2 December 2010, before stating the essence of our forthcoming roadmap for Karabakh conflict resolution, declare
that:
1. The conflict resolution process has become more active in the recent two years.
2. Peaceful options of conflict resolution have not been exhausted.

II. We call upon the conflicting parties:
1. Express a common position concerning the basic Madrid principles.
2. Support the L'Aquila Declaration of 10 July 2009 and the Muscoca Declaration of 26 June 2010 made by the presidents of the United States of America, the Russian Federation and France.
3. Respect the demands set by the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the additional Protocols of 1977.

III. We have agreed on the principles and basic elements of a roadmap for Karabakh conflict resolution. The basic principles include:
. common benefit,
. complementarity,
. co-dependency,
. civil society's
will.

The first basic element is a white paper for transport in the South Caucasus. Among other elements, we accentuate measures towards confidence-building on individual and civil society levels.


Stepan Grigoryan, political scientist
Rauf Rajabov, policy analyst

Tbilisi, 23 October 2010

CONFLICT: “ Zones of Peace in the South Caucasus ” initiative (a1plus.am)

During the symposium at the U.S. George Mason University a group of peace initiative activists from Baku, Tbilisi, Yerevan, Moscow and Washington discussed the “Peace Zones” plan. “Peace Zones” are geographical areas where attempts are being made to limit violence by promoting peace, as well as tolerance between ethnicities and religions. According to authors of the initiative, there are good examples of “Peace Zones” in different parts of the world and it may be applicable in the South Caucasus region. The initiative sent its first release to “A1+ from Washington which we will present in its entirety.
While Georgian Minister for Reintegration Temuri Yakobashvili’s announcement this week of the Georgian initiative to declare Abkhazia a weapon-free zone was met with disdain by Russia and Abkhazia, there is merit to a much broader consideration of Zones of Peace. Beyond simply banning weapons, Zones of Peace are geographic areas where violence is limited and a culture of peace and tolerance is encouraged. Zones of Peace, already successful elsewhere, present promising prospects for the future of the South Caucasus, particularly if structured so as to be attractive to all involved. For example, if the Georgian government were to work towards making all of Georgia – not only Abkhazia - a weapons-free zone, that idea might find favorable Russian and Abkhaz consideration.
Rather than becoming a battlefield for global power struggles, the Caucasus as a whole could transform into a Zone of Peace, where no military powers would compete and all cultural traditions, religious practices, and languages would be respected. We know transformations are possible; post-World War II European reconciliation giving rise to the E.U. demonstrates radical transformation. Zones of Peace in the South Caucasus are also possible-hopefully without another sixty-year delay.
Zones of Peace have worked to keep villagers in Colombia and the Philippines safe from the violence surrounding their homes, to protect eighty-six communities in a larger Local Zone of Peace in Ecuador, and to safeguard residents along the mountainous Peru-Ecuador border. In an even grander peace initiative, the entire country of Costa Rica relinquished its military forces. Zones of Peace could offer similar benefits in isolated villages, across buffer zones, or regionally throughout the South Caucasus.
There is a history in the Caucasus of markets serving as informal Zones of Peace in the towns of Egret and Sadakhlo, and at the Red Bridge market. While local people from across conflict lines have bought and sold produce, they have also kept communication open between their communities. More of these micro Zones of Peace could facilitate necessary local trade, while simultaneously keeping grassroots communication open between the societies separated by conflict. Legalizing and supporting markets in Zugdidi near the Inguri, near Sadakhlo, the Red Bridge area, and Ergneti would minimize the threat of heroin trade or other illicit activities by allowing appropriate regulation of market activities.
Larger buffer zones already established along the lines of conflict could also become Zones of Peace. Instead of resounding with daily sniper fire, these spaces could become truly demilitarized zones. Unarmed military observers or others invited by the local community could patrol such security zones to prevent illegal activities and protect their demilitarized character.
An even more ambitious regional Zone of Peace would remove military forces from the whole South Caucasus, allowing economic interests to flourish and a culture of peace to develop. With local police curbing crime, the people in the zone would stop allocating precious resources to fight debilitating wars, and development would surge with more open market access. In the absence of the threat of war, travel between the conflict zones would be restored, and a longer-term conversation on settling political differences without the use of force could develop. Only a stable Zone of Peace, and much time, will make real reconciliation possible.
The peace within the European Union was not built overnight. It emerged from the ashes of World War II when a few individuals envisioned the possibility of cooperation. They started with coal and steel, and grew into more multifaceted cooperation.
The South Caucasus, too, could be dramatically different in time. Zones of Peace could start small with markets along the conflict lines, then build towards whole buffer zones, and eventually include broader regional arrangements. Gradually building Zones of Peace will steer the Caucasus away from a future of ongoing geopolitical struggle and violent conflict, and instead toward one of interethnic and interreligious coexistence.
The Georgian initiative for a weapons-free Abkhazia is only one version of a Zone of Peace. In this tense post-war period, other structures including parallel demilitarization on all sides would be more widely attractive to all parties. Both small and large Zones of Peace can only be built cooperatively, when all parties willingly giving up the option of resorting to violence.
The radical transformation from a war-torn region to a beacon of peace will require courageous risks. Are we willing to take risks today so that, in two or three generations, coexistence in the Caucasus will be as obvious as the E.U.’s post-World War II integration is today?

About the Authors:
Susan Allen Nan is Assistant Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. Irakli Kakabadze teaches Peace Studies at Cornell University. Arsen Kharatyan is a founding member of the youth movements Sksela and Hima. Jamila Mammadova is a South Caucasus Program Officer at the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy. Ekaterina Romanova is a Ph.D. Candidate in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University.

source: a1plus.am/en

EUROPA: EU diplomats fly out to mediate in Georgia-Russia war

By PHILIPPA RUNNER
Today @ 11:01 CET

EU and US diplomats are arriving in Georgia on Saturday (9 August) to try to broker a ceasefire in a fast-escalating conflict between Georgia and Russia, after fighting intensified and spread overnight, with casualties mounting despite international appeals.

The EU delegation is being led by South Caucasus envoy Peter Semneby, with the US sending its top South Caucasus diplomat, Matthew Bryza. Lithuanian foreign minister Petras Vaitiekunas is also going on a separate, fact-finding mission for the EU.
The French EU presidency says it has had "multiple contacts" and is "in liaison with all the protagonists" to try and stop the fighting, while EU top diplomat Javier Solana has spoken by phone with the Georgian and Russian foreign ministers.

more >>>

NACHRICHTEN: Wird Abchasien aufgeteilt?

Russland und die GUS: Heute in Kürze Russland.RU - Russia
Baku - Stattfinden wird eine Militärparade anlässlich des 90. Jahrestages der Gründung der Streitkräfte Aserbaidschans
EU muss auf Gipfel in Sibirien mit Abfuhr rechnen D ie Presse - Wien, Austria
Hier geht es vor allem um den Bau der transkaspischen Pipeline, über die Öl und Gas aus Turkmenistan und Kasachstan nach Baku gelangen soll.
Eine friedliche Lösung für Abchasien sueddeutsche.de - München, Bayern, Germany
Der russische Konflikt mit Georgien um die abchasische Provinz könnte bald friedlich beigelegt werden.
EU will zur Konfliktregelung in Georgien beitragen RIA Novosti - Moscow, Russia
EU-Chefdiplomat Javier Solana hat Russlands Rolle im Sicherheitsbereich gelobt.
Medien in Georgien – Kavkasia TV: Werbepartner werden zu Kündigung ... Georgien Nachrichten - Germany
Nach Angaben des Senders werden Firmenkunden, die Werbung auf dem Sender geschaltet haben, systematisch von den georgischen Behörden dazu gezwungen, ...
Tiflis legte Moskau Vorschlag zu abtrünnigem Abchasien vor derStandard.at - Wien, Austria
Moskau/Chanty-Mansijsk - Georgien hat Russland einem Zeitungsbericht zufolge einen Vorschlag im Konflikt um die von der Zentralregierung in Tiflis (Tbilisi)
• Merkel trifft Saakaschwili Georgien Nachrichten - Germany
Der georgische Präsident Micheil Saakaschwili ist bei seinem Besuch in Deutschland mit Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel zusammengetroffen.
Georgien schlägt Russland Aufteilung Abchasiens mit Verzicht auf ... RIA Novosti - Moscow, Russia
Georgien hat Russland ein Maßnahmenpaket zur Regelung des georgisch-abchasischen Konflikts angeboten, das eine faktische Aufteilung Abchasiens in eine große ...
Führer abtrünniger Teilrepublik in Georgien zu Besuch in Moskau Georgien Nachrichten - Germany
Der international nicht anerkannte Führer der abtrünnigen georgischen Teilrepublik Abchasien, Sergej Bagapsch, ist am Donnerstag vom russischen Präsidenten ...
Botschafterin Deutschlands in Georgien besucht abtrünnige Teilrepublik Georgien Nachrichten - Germany
Die deutsche Botschafterin in Georgien, Patricia Flor, ist am Donnerstag zu einem Besuch in der Provinzhauptstadt der abtrünnigen georgischen Teilrepublik ...
Bundeskanzlerin Merkel zu Themen, die Georgien betreffen Georgien Nachrichten - Germany
Die deutsche Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel ist am Mittwoch in Berlin mit dem georgischen Präsidenten Micheil Saakaschwili zusammengetroffen
Russlands Außenamt erstaunt über Reaktion Georgiens auf Treffen ... RIA Novosti - Moscow, Russia
Das russische Außenminister ist erstaunt über eine scharfe Reaktion der Kaukasusrepublik Georgien auf das jüngste Treffen zwischen dem russischen ...

INTERNET:

Online-Sprachkurs für Georgisch

Update now (20.06.2007):
I'm sorry that I have to inform you that the course planned for the fall semester has been cancelled. Information on our website is updated now.
Hopefully there will be more applicants to the spring semester, which starts January 18, 2008. Latest application date for the spring semester is October 15, 2007.
Please contact me in September again if you are interested.
Best regards
Manana Kock Kobaidze

Die Universität Malmö bietet zum September diesen Jahres einen kostenlosen Online-Sprachkurs für Georgisch an.

Mehr: http://www.mah.se/templates/Page____5364.aspx

Georgian, 1-15 credits (15 ECTS credits)
General course information This IT-based Georgian language course will be offered in the fall semester 2007 at Malmoe University, at the School of International Migrations and Ethnical Relations.
The course is based exclusively on distance learning. All course material (lectures in English, Georgian texts with transliterations, exercises, Georgian-English dictionary, audio-files, Georgian fonts etc) will be available on the net. No obligatory meetings in Malmoe are included. The examination is also conducted on the net.
For more information about the course, click here Demo version of the course

Other Cource: Conflict and conflict resolution in the Caucasus
The course analyses a selection of current conflict cases in the Caucasus on the basis of existing conflict theories and models for conflict resolution. The Caucasus region is characterized by territorial complexity and high ethnic diversity. In the Post-Soviet period the region has witnessed a number of violent ethnopolitic conflicts with large refugee flows, increasing Islamic fundamentalism, escalating terrorism and other destabilizing effects. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War the Caucasus region has obtained a new strategic significance. Regional great powers again compete for political influence in the region and for control over its strategically important energy resources. New external actors, notably USA and the EU, seek to obtain influence in the region.
The aim of the course is to familiarize students with major theoretical approaches to violent intrastate conflicts and to critically apply these approahes to selected conflicts in the Caucasus region.
The course is offered exclusively online, the students following the course come both from nearby in the Öresund region, but also from other countries worldwide. This creates an international group of students that are engaged in different joint activities during the course, and thereby promoting international contacts and strengthening the international perspective.

More: http://www.mah.se/templates/Page____38768.aspx

Nachrichtenblatt der Botschaft der Republik Aserbaidschan
April 2007 No. 4

openPR.de (Pressemitteilung) - Hamburg, Germany...

Außenministerium der USA greift auf ursprüngliche Formulierung bezüglich der Okkupation von Berg-Karabach seitens Armeniens zurück.

Am 26. April bestätigte Anne Derse, die US-Botschafterin in Aserbaidschan, dass neue Änderung am Menschenrechtsbericht (für das Jahr 2006) des Außenministeriums der USA bezüglich der Menschenrechte in Armenien vorgenommen wurde, in denen das Außenministerium auf Originalfassung des Berichtes zurückgegriffen hat.

Nach dieser Änderung wurde die Formulierung „Armenische Kräfte besetzen einen großen Teil aserbaidschanischen Territoriums an der Grenze zu Berg-Karabach“ durch „Armenien besetzt weiterhin aserbaidschanisches Territorium Berg-Karabach und sieben umliegende aserbaidschanische Gebiete“ (Armenia continues to occupy the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories) ersetzt.

www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78799.htm

Als Reaktion auf die erste Formulierung hatte die Regierung der Republik Aserbaidschan die für den Zeitraum von 23-24. April in Washington D.C. vorgesehenen bilateralen Sicherheitskonsultationen auf unbestimmte Zeit vertagt, so die Nachrichtenagentur „AzerTAC“. Nach der Änderung der Formulierung hat die aserbaidschanische Seite erklärt, dass neue Termine für die Sicherheitskonsultationen nun durch die diplomatischen Kanäle vereinbart werden könnten.

Mämmädjarow: Kälbädschär und Latschyn sollen bedingungslos befreit werden.

Elmar Mämmädjarow, aserbaidschanischer Außenminister, sagte aserbaidschanischen Medienvertretern, dass obwohl noch erhebliche Probleme vorhanden seien, die Debatten um den Status von Berg-Karabach eine neue Phase erreicht haben, in der wichtige Leitsätze bereits festgelegt seien.

Aserbaidschan bleibe bei seiner Forderung bezüglich des Abzugs der Streitkräfte Armeniens aus den besetzten Gebieten von Aserbaidschan. „Wir verstehen, dass dies innerhalb eines Tages zu erreichen, unmöglich ist. Deswegen arbeiten wir schrittweise“, betonte der Minister.

Die Friedenssicherungskräfte sollten in den befreiten Gebieten stationiert werden und die Kommunikationen müssen wiederhergestellt werden. Kälbädschär und Latschyn sollten wie die anderen besetzen 5 Bezirke bedingungslos befreit werden, so der Minister.

Mämmädjarow betonte, dass die aserbaidschanische Bevölkerung in die befreiten Gebiete zurückkehren sollte. Als nächstes kann man den Status von Berg-Karabach im Rahmen der territorialen Integrität Aserbaidschans diskutieren, sagte der Minister.

news about the caucasus

From Russia with love: The wines of Georgia 25 Apr 2007 10:11, San Mateo County Times... From Russia with love: The wines of Georgia Article Last Updated: 04/25/2007 02:50:45 AM PDT ... the former Soviet republic, wedged in the Caucasus between Turkey, Armenia and the strife-torn region ...
Nabucco: A project with a strange name and mysterious intentions 25 Apr 2007 04:56, Alexander's Gas and Oil Connections... be laid across the territory of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, and then to Hungary, Romania ... condition that the capacity of the Southern Caucasus pipeline would be increased. There is little ...
Azerbaijan to sell gas to EU by end-2007 25 Apr 2007 04:54, Alexander's Gas and Oil Connections... be exported to Europe through the South Caucasus Pipeline by the end of the year," ... was inviting the presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Ukraine to an energy summit in ...
Georgia Promotes its Conflict-Resolution Plan 25 Apr 2007 04:54, Eurasianet... President Mikheil Saakashvili's administration in Georgia is courting NATO and United Nations support ... social, political and economic developments of the Caucasus and Central Asia. It is a program ...
Azeri-US energy agreement 25 Apr 2007 04:53, Alexander's Gas and Oil Connections... Washington and Brussels. The small countries, like Georgia for example, that are very, very important ... natural gas to Europe via the South Caucasus. Turkmenistan currently exports most of its natural ...
US missile shield questioned 25 Apr 2007 04:51, International Security Network... an early warning system somewhere in the Caucasus. Its stated purpose is to defend Europe ... and then from the south - in Georgia and the Ukraine. And with the final ...
Georgia: BTC: Who Benefits? 25 Apr 2007 04:48, Transitions Online... to stimulate economic growth in the South Caucasus country. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has repeatedly ... of the total foreign direct investment in Georgia from 2000 to 2006. The pipeline was ...
Georgia on a mission to win friends 24 Apr 2007 22:14, Times Online... Georgia has decided to more than double its ... troops. In return, the small and vulnerable Caucasus nation of five million people expects President ...

Unresolved Conflicts in the Regional Security System: The Case of the South Caucasus

Transition Studies Review
Verlag Springer Wien
ISSN 1614-4007 (Print)
1614-4015 (Online)
Heft Volume 11, Number 3 / Dezember 2004
Kategorie Transatlantic Relations, Strategic Studies, International Order

Seiten 213-223

Gayane Novikova, Email: gnovikova@netsys.am, gnovikova@spectrum.am

Center for Strategic Analyses “Spectrum”, Yerevan, Armenia
Abstract. The collapse of the USSR was accompanied by transformation of the South Caucasian latent ethnopolitical conflicts into local wars. Today the situation in the area of the conflicts is “neither war, nor peace”. Three unresolved conflicts of the South Caucasus can be considered as one of the most serious obstacles for establishing a regional security system.
The article gives the general characteristics of these conflicts, the trends of their development, taking into account the time factor, and analyzes the behavioral models of the main players – de jure recognized and unrecognized de facto states of the South Caucasus. The basic objective of the main players should be to keep the situation on a level preventing the resumption of the armed conflicts. The attempts of forced resolution of the conflicts are fraught with destabilization of the situation not only in the area of any of these conflicts but in the whole region.

A Transnational Policy for Conflict Reduction

and Prevention in the South Caucasus
By Robert M. Cutler

Abstract:This article examines conflicts in the South Caucasus with a view towards means for their interdependent resolution. It reviews the situations in Georgia: Abkhazia, Ajaria, Javakhetia, and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia), and juxtaposes to them the situation in Mountainous Karabagh, identifying complicating factors. On that basis, and focusing on the potential for nongovernmental actors to create potential transgovernmental and transsocietal socio-political coalitions, a policy initiative for the South Caucasus is described. Specifically, possibilities are considered for moving towards an institution such as a transnational Assembly for Regions and Peoples of the South Caucasus. Issues of institutional design are considered and assessed on the basis of existing comparative work on international parliamentary formations.

Contents:
Ethnic Disputes and Conflict Resolution
Abkhazia
Ajaria
Javakhetia
Tskhinvali (South Ossetia)
Analysis
Inspection of the Four Cases
Table 1. Abkhazia, Ajaria, Javakhetia, and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).
The Karabagh Case
A First Attempt at Comprehensive Settlement
Towards the Parliamentarization of Transnational Conflict
Applied Theory as the Basis for a Real Solution
Transnational Parliamentarization in Practice
Next Steps
Conclusion and Prospect
Bibliography

Suggested citation for this webpage:
Robert M. Cutler, “Transnational Policies for Conflict Reduction and Prevention in the South Caucasus ,” Perspectives on Global Development and Technology 2, nos. 3–4 (December 2003): 615–633, reprinted at pp. 301–319 in Central Eurasia in Global Politics: Conflict, Security, and Development, ed. M.P. Amineh and H. Houweling (Boston–Leiden: Brill, 2004), available at < http://www.robertcutler.org/download/html/ar03pgd.html >, accessed 25 January 2007.

LSE and LSESU Georgian Society public lecture

Georgia, South Caucasus: new prospective for conflict resolution and regional cooperation

Date: Friday 21 April 2006

Time: 6.00pm

Venue: Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House

Speaker: Nino Burjanadze

Chair: Mark Hoffman

Nino Burjanadze is Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia, a position she has held since 2001. Mrs. Burjanadze was Acting President of Georgia in November 2003 – January 2004. She was first elected to Parliament in 1995 where she headed the Legal Committee until 1999 and later she was the chairperson of the parliamentary committee on foreign relations. She has been a vice president of the parliamentary assembly of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA) since 2000. Mrs. Burjanadze graduated in 1986 from the faculty of law of the Tbilisi State University and subsequently graduated with a Ph.D. in international law in 1990 from the Lomonosov Moscow State University. Since 1991 she has been a professor of the faculty of international relations and international law of the Tbilisi State University.

This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis.

For further information email events@lse.ac.uk or phone 020 7955 6043.

If you are planning to attend this event and would like details on how to get here and what time to arrive, please refer to Coming to an event at LSE

Source: London School of Economics & Polical Science