AUA hosting International Conference on Geopolitics in South Caucasus

ArmInfo. The American University of Armenia (AUA) is hosting a two-day international conference, titled "The South Caucasus Along Fault Lines: Regional and International Perspectives."

Scheduled for April 18-19, the event is bringing together academics,  former diplomats, analysts, and policy experts to examine regional  risks, strategic alignments, and the broader geopolitical landscape  of the South Caucasus, with a particular focus on Armenia.

The event is driven by a desire to provide a dispassionate assessment  of the factors shaping the region - beyond the usual pro-Western or  pro-Russian dichotomy - and to contribute to the development of high-  standard foreign policy analysis in Armenia.

Among the issues to be addressed are the prospects for continued  democratization in Georgia and Armenia, the unresolved  Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and the possibility of its resumption,  shifting regional influence involving Russia, Turkiye and Iran, and  the strategic interests of global actors including the European  Union, China, India, and the United States.

The conference features a diverse group of speakers, including two  former foreign ministers from the Republic of Armenia and the former  Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, a former Indian ambassador to Armenia,  and the president of the International Relations Council of Turkiye.

Participants were selected based on diplomatic experience, subject  matter expertise, and diversity of perspective. "This conference will  deepen and refine our understanding of the latest foreign policy  orientations in the region," remarked AUA Professor Stephan  Astourian. "The backgrounds of our speakers - diplomatic, academic  and analytical - ensure a high-level discussion of the complex  interplay between regional and international actors."

The conference supports the Institute's broader mission to serve as a  hub for international relations scholarship and as a training ground  for graduate students in AUA's Master of International Relations and  Diplomacy and Master of Public Affairs programs.

Dr. Astourian also highlighted a number of critical questions that  the conference seeks to address: the possibility of a conflict  involving the Islamic Republic of Iran; the prospects for sustainable  peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan; the relationship between  democratization and regional integration; how Western powers will  reconcile democratic rhetoric with strategic and energy interests in  the region; the consequences of the outcome of the Russian-Ukrainian  war for the region; and Armenia's internal development - especially  its ability to strengthen state institutions, improve governance, and  reform its military.

"I hope those attending this conference will come to better  understand how experts analyze these issues - and how much more  complicated they are than what public discourse in Armenia often  suggests," said Dr.  Astourian.