The international workshop in Istanbul

The laboratory's scholars Leonid Issaev and Evgeny Ivanov took part in the international workshop "Regionalism in the South Caucasus", which was held in Istanbul on the basis of the Institut français d'etudes anatoliennes (IFEA). The workshop was attended by researchers from Russia, Turkey, Iran, France, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.

The international workshop "Regionalism in the South Caucasus: perspectives from within and without" was held in Istanbul on the basis of the Institut français d'etudes anatoliennes. The workshop became part of the same name research project launched by the Department of Political Science and International Relations of TOBB University (Turkey) and the Laboratory for Monitoring the Risks of Socio-Political Destabilization of the Higher School of Economics.The main objective of the project is aimed at studying the concept of regionalism in relation to the South Caucasus both from the positions of the states of the region (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia) and from the side of external actors (Russia, Turkey, Iran, the EU). Doing the comparative study of the selected country cases the scholars identify the prospects and challenges of regionalization in the South Caucasus.
Leonid Issaev and Evgeny Ivanov made a presentation "Transcaucasian nexus: the Russian perspective". As part of their presentation, the authors showed that the Russian strategy towards the South Caucasus is becoming less focused on bilateral relations with the states of the region and it is increasingly leaning towards regionalization (for example, towards the "3 + 3" format). The key narratives characterizing the Russian approach to the regional policy are highlighted. Eleborating the results of the workshop the project participants will prepare articles for a special issue of the Eurasian Geography and Economics journal.