Caucasus Conflict Voices · Global Voices

Russian soldiers patrolling the streets of Gori, Georgia. Image by Onnik Krikorian, copyright Demotix (18/08/2008).
Strategically situated between Russia, Turkey and Iran, the South Caucasus is a key area of importance for the international community. A bridge between East and West, as well as a new and significant conduit for oil and gas, the region is also one of the most volatile. In the early 1990s separatist movements in Azerbaijan and Georgia saw bitter inter-ethnic fighting turn into full-scale war when the Soviet Union collapsed and Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia declared their independence.
Nearly two decades later, conflicts over the disputed territories of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh might be ‘frozen,’ but lasting peace remains elusive. There are also fears that fighting might break out once again, especially as the region remains riven by ethnic rivalry and a bitterly disputed history.
Such concerns were highlighted in August 2008 when Russia and Georgia fought a short war over the breakaway territory of South Ossetia. Meanwhile, with skirmishes frequent on the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, some analysts also fear a new war over Nagorno Karabakh as negotiations continue to falter. Aside from the lack of political will, many analysts argue, societies in all three countries are not being engaged or prepared for peace.
Yet, with media in the region often resorting to propaganda and misinformation (download report), few opportunities exist for objective reporting or moderate voices on the conflict to be heard, an issue this special coverage page will attempt to address. It will also cover the increasing use of new and social media in cross-border peace-building initiatives.
If you have any links or suggestions for this page, please contact Global Voices Caucasus Editor, Onnik Krikorian. See here for Onnik's work in this field.
What we do: Global Voices bloggers report on how citizens use the Internet and social media to make their voices heard, often translating from other languages.
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2012
22 Apr – Armenia: Human Rights Organizations concerned over film festival obstruction
14 Apr – Armenia: Support for Georgi Vanyan
12 Apr – Armenia: Nationalist threats against local activist
7 Mar – Georgia: The return of Vladimir Putin
6 Mar – Armenia: Eurovision propaganda fiasco
29 Feb – Armenia: Sumgait Pogrom Anniversary
29 Feb – Azerbaijan: Khojaly Massacre Anniversary
2011
21 Dec – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Garlic Wars
12 Dec – Caucasus: Frozen Conflicts, Forgotten Lives?
3 Dec – Armenia-Azerbaijan: A microcosm of an unresolved conflict
1 Dec – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Pomegranate Diplomacy
1 Dec – Armenia-Azerbaijan: The Nagorno Karabakh conflict on YouTube
14 Nov – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Facebook Diplomacy
29 Jun – Azerbaijan: Freedom of Eurovision, including for Armenians
15 May – Azerbaijan: Eurovision Victory
03 Feb – Georgia: Blogger action in support of evicted IDPs
21 Jan – Azerbaijan: Bloggers remember Hrant Dink four years on
2010
31 Dec – Caucasus: Online tools in Peace Building
25 Nov – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Does culture unite or divide?
15 Oct – Caucasus: Attitudes to inter-ethnic marriage
12 Oct – Caucasus: Perceptions of inter-ethnic friendship
08 Oct – Azerbaijan: Playing the Armenian card
13 Sep – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Backseat musical musings… and ethnic conflict
20 Aug – Armenia-Azerbaijan: More dialogue through film
16 Aug – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Dialogue through film
10 Aug – Georgia: Second anniversary of South Ossetia war
07 Aug – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Overcoming negative stereotypes in the South Caucasus
31 Jul – Georgia: Frozen conflicts, frozen happiness
22 Jul – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Bloggers build dialogue
15 Jul – Caucasus: Blogs and Bullets
28 Jun – Armenia-Azerbaijan: More Conflict Voices
12 Jun – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Conflict Voices
08 Jun – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Finding mutual ground online
28 May – Caucasus: Social media, cleavage, and rare unity in Eurovision
24 May – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Conflict Transformation
19 Apr – Caucasus: Social Innovation Camp
26 Mar – Armenia-Azerbaijan: BBC Azeri Facebook Diary III
25 Mar – Armenia-Azerbaijan: BBC Azeri Facebook Diary II
24 Mar – Armenia-Azerbaijan: BBC Azeri Facebook Diary I
14 Mar – Georgia: Mock news report causes panic
02 Feb – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Twitter Diplomacy
20 Jan – Azerbaijan: 20th anniversary of Baku pogrom and Black January
06 Jan – Caucasus: Unity in Diversity
2009
30 Dec – Overcoming negative stereotypes in the South Caucasus
05 Oct – Georgia: An Azeri Wedding
09 Aug – Armenia-Azerbaijan: An interview with Elizabeth Métraux
01 Aug – Armenia-Azerbaijan: An interview with Micael Bogar
22 Jul – Armenia-Azerbaijan: An interview with Arzu Geybullayeva
15 Jul – Armenia: ‘Bloggers’ call for foreign minister's resignation
02 Feb – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Environment a Mutual Concern for Young Bloggers
28 Jan – Armenia-Azerbaijan: Young Bloggers Bridge Geopolitical Divides
21 Jan – Azerbaijan: Black January
04 Jan – Azerbaijan: Cultural Destruction
2008
15 Dec – Azerbaijan: Destruction of Ancient Cemetery Commemorated
15 Nov – Nagorno Karabakh: Peacebuilding Goes Online
10 Jun – Azerbaijan: Blogs, BarCamps & Social Networks
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