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STRATFOR EXPERT: "THE CAUCASUS IS FAR MORE DYNAMIC AND COMPLEX THAN A MAP WOULD SUGGEST"
APA
May 31 2011
Azerbaijan
Baku - APA. "The Caucasus is, geopolitically speaking, an extremely
important and strategic region.
As a land bridge between the Black and Caspian seas and a
trans-continental zone between Europe and Asia, the Caucasus is
significant in multiple ways because of its location. Adding to these
geographical dynamics is the presence of three small states - Georgia,
Armenia and Azerbaijan - sandwiched between three much larger ones
- Russia, Turkey and Iran. This is all information that is easily
gleaned from looking at a map; the region's true importance is less
obvious. A map would not tell you that Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan
became independent states only 20 years ago. Nor would it tell you that
Russia, Turkey and Iran were all once major empires. It certainly would
not tell you that all of these former empires are once again rising
in their own unique ways, and that even some of the smaller countries
are beginning to make a name for themselves as significant regional
players", said STRATFOR's Eugene Chausovsky in his report for APA on
his recent trip to the Caucasus - "A Journey Through the Caucasus.
"In short, the Caucasus is far more dynamic and complex than a map
would suggest, and that is one of the reasons I visited this region:
to get a first-hand perspective of the Caucasus", the expert said.
"While I try to follow the countries in the Caucasus in terms of news
and current events as closely as I can on a regular basis, I have
learned that there is no substitute for seeing a place with your own
eyes -- particularly in the Caucasus. In Azerbaijan, instead of reading
about the latest rise in the country's oil and natural gas exports
or examining statistics on annual gross domestic product growth,
I saw economic growth first-hand in the form of seemingly endless
construction projects and gleaming new skyscrapers around Baku. Instead
of reading about trade between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, I walked
along the Bulvar on the Caspian Sea where I saw countless tankers and
ships, a few of which I am sure were transporting goods to Kazakhstan".
He also shared his ideas about Georgia: "In Georgia, I realized just
how small the country - and for that matter the Caucasus region -
really was. Taking a car from Tbilisi to Gori on the only major
east-west road in Georgia gave me a new understanding of the size of
the country and the limits imposed by its mountainous terrain. Passing
only a few kilometers from the border with the breakaway territory of
South Ossetia, as well as the numerous internally displaced persons'
camps along the road, certainly put the 2008 Russia-Georgia war
in perspective".
"In Turkey, taking a ferry from the Anatolian side of Istanbul to
the European side allowed me to see the scope of a cosmopolitan,
world-class city of 13 million that blends European and Islamic
characteristics. Walking through Istanbul, it was easy to imagine
why this city was the center of the Ottoman Empire and the Byzantine
Empire before that. It was equally as easy to imagine Istanbul as the
financial and cultural center of a country whose presence is felt in
Baku and Tbilisi and beyond", the expert said.
"From spending time in the region, the lasting impression that I came
away with is that the Caucasus is a region that is swiftly changing
and one whose future is simultaneously promising and uncertain. The
static position of the Caucasus on a map is no substitute for the
dynamism that I witnessed in the region's streets, roads, mountains,
seas and, most importantly, its people".
APA
May 31 2011
Azerbaijan
Baku - APA. "The Caucasus is, geopolitically speaking, an extremely
important and strategic region.
As a land bridge between the Black and Caspian seas and a
trans-continental zone between Europe and Asia, the Caucasus is
significant in multiple ways because of its location. Adding to these
geographical dynamics is the presence of three small states - Georgia,
Armenia and Azerbaijan - sandwiched between three much larger ones
- Russia, Turkey and Iran. This is all information that is easily
gleaned from looking at a map; the region's true importance is less
obvious. A map would not tell you that Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan
became independent states only 20 years ago. Nor would it tell you that
Russia, Turkey and Iran were all once major empires. It certainly would
not tell you that all of these former empires are once again rising
in their own unique ways, and that even some of the smaller countries
are beginning to make a name for themselves as significant regional
players", said STRATFOR's Eugene Chausovsky in his report for APA on
his recent trip to the Caucasus - "A Journey Through the Caucasus.
"In short, the Caucasus is far more dynamic and complex than a map
would suggest, and that is one of the reasons I visited this region:
to get a first-hand perspective of the Caucasus", the expert said.
"While I try to follow the countries in the Caucasus in terms of news
and current events as closely as I can on a regular basis, I have
learned that there is no substitute for seeing a place with your own
eyes -- particularly in the Caucasus. In Azerbaijan, instead of reading
about the latest rise in the country's oil and natural gas exports
or examining statistics on annual gross domestic product growth,
I saw economic growth first-hand in the form of seemingly endless
construction projects and gleaming new skyscrapers around Baku. Instead
of reading about trade between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, I walked
along the Bulvar on the Caspian Sea where I saw countless tankers and
ships, a few of which I am sure were transporting goods to Kazakhstan".
He also shared his ideas about Georgia: "In Georgia, I realized just
how small the country - and for that matter the Caucasus region -
really was. Taking a car from Tbilisi to Gori on the only major
east-west road in Georgia gave me a new understanding of the size of
the country and the limits imposed by its mountainous terrain. Passing
only a few kilometers from the border with the breakaway territory of
South Ossetia, as well as the numerous internally displaced persons'
camps along the road, certainly put the 2008 Russia-Georgia war
in perspective".
"In Turkey, taking a ferry from the Anatolian side of Istanbul to
the European side allowed me to see the scope of a cosmopolitan,
world-class city of 13 million that blends European and Islamic
characteristics. Walking through Istanbul, it was easy to imagine
why this city was the center of the Ottoman Empire and the Byzantine
Empire before that. It was equally as easy to imagine Istanbul as the
financial and cultural center of a country whose presence is felt in
Baku and Tbilisi and beyond", the expert said.
"From spending time in the region, the lasting impression that I came
away with is that the Caucasus is a region that is swiftly changing
and one whose future is simultaneously promising and uncertain. The
static position of the Caucasus on a map is no substitute for the
dynamism that I witnessed in the region's streets, roads, mountains,
seas and, most importantly, its people".