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

Friday, January 31st, 2025 at 9:00 am to 12:30 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.

This will be a hybrid event with a limited number of in-person spaces. Please register using the form below to secure attendance either an in person or online. EETN will notify those who are able to attend in person prior to the event. Preferences for in person attendance will be taken into consideration but cannot be guaranteed due to limited capacity.

Security and Defence in the South Caucasus Registration Form

Please provide your contact information to register for the upcoming roundtable. Please note: Requests for in-person attendance will be taken into consideration but cannot be guaranteed. Please wait for an email from EETN to confirm your in-person spot has been reserved.

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Schedule

8:45-9:00: Registration and Coffee

9:00-9:15: Introductory Remarks

Andrew Turner, Canadian Ambassador to Yerevan
Anahit Harutyunyan, Armenian Ambassador to Canada

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

Jean-François Ratelle (University of Ottawa) – Conflict Resolution in Eurasia- Armenia/Azerbaijan in Regional Perspective
Nona Shahnazarian (Stanford) – Role of Russia in the region
Natia Chankvatadze (Harvard) – “Peacebuilding: Discourses and Practices in Georgia and the South Caucasus”

10:15-10:30- Break

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

David Sichinava (Carleton) – Setting Sail in Uncharted Waters? Georgia’s Domestic Political Trajectories After the 2024 Parliamentary Elections
Ella Bennett (Carleton student) – Crossroads of Contention: The Zangezur Corridor’s Role in Regional Stability and Security
Margarita Tadevosyan (George Mason) – Nagorno-Karabakh (internal)

11:30-11:45: Break

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

Samvel Minasyan (SecDev, Ottawa) – Exploring the Cyber Dimension of the Security Challenges in the Caucasus
Elza Stepanyan – Food Security in Armenia
Jeff Sahadeo (Carleton) – Why should Canada care about the South Caucasus?