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Security and Defence in the South Caucasus: Armenia and Georgia on the Edge

Friday, January 31st, 2025 at 9:00 am to 2:00 pm

  • Hybrid event
  • 10 Daly Ave, Ottawa, ON, K1N 0C6

Registration is required.

The South Caucasus have emerged as a geopolitical fulcrum since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, engaging emergent and existing global powers in this complex ethnic and political landscape. Security and defence issues remain paramount since Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008, Ukraine in 2014 and 2022, and the conflicts over Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) in 2020 and 2023. Armenia and Georgia, the focus of this workshop, each balance efforts to maintain sovereignty with the realization that regional and global powers—including Turkey, Russia and China— retain significant interest in their territories, resources and populations. Armenia has turned towards the West for military assistance, even if its efforts to pivot from Russia are challenged by legacies of economic and military interdependence. Georgia’s government has made a hard turn from Europe and towards Russia, against the wishes of its population. This workshop will examine multiple facets of regional security and defence, from military capabilities and alliances to cybersecurity and domestic issues that include food security and climate change. 

Schedule

8:45-9:00: Registration and Coffee 

9:00-9:15: Introductory Remarks

9:15-10:15: Panel 1: Regional Security and Defence Issues 

10:15-10:30- Break

10:30-11:30: Panel 2: Politics and Security 

11:30-11:45: Break

11:45-12:45: Panel 3: Broader Security Issues and Canada’s Role  

12:45-2:00: Networking lunch