Category: Publications
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The Elections and Kyrgyz-Kazakh Complications
By Shairbek Juraev Can an exercise of democratic elections jeopardize a nation’s foreign relations? Not necessarily, but when combined with the non-democratic exercise of foreign policy, it probably can. The 2017 presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan, much praised as a rare case of peaceful power transfer from one elected leader to another in Central Asia, has also gained…
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What Dreams May Come for Those that Dream of Europe
By Yaroslava Babych If four years ago, someone suggested that a relatively small student protest camp in Ukraine, violently dispersed overnight by police , would have a profound influence on European history, many would simply laugh at the thought. For many years, EU policymakers have been walking a tightrope between integrating neighboring countries into its…
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The Ballad of Misha and Petro
By Lincoln Mitchell The latest verse in the ballad of Misha and Petro may be the strangest one yet. The former Georgian President, Misha Saakashvili, and current Ukrainian President, Petro Poroschenko, were friends from their student days. When Poroschenko was first elected President of Ukraine in 2014, it was seen as logical that he appointed…
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The Challenge of Moving EU-Georgia Relations Forward
By Licinia Simao The Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit on 24 November in Brussels, represents another important milestone in Georgia’s path of European integration. After having signed an Association Agreement with the European Union that entered into force in July 2016, and having been granted visa free status, Georgia is now looking forward to seeing its position…
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EaP Summit: A Beginning or End for EU-Azerbaijan Relations?
By Zaur Shiriyev Today’s Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels represents a never-ending question for the EU: how to retain the format’s effectiveness, and maintaining motivation among all participant states given increasing divergences in what they want from the EU. So far, the three countries that have signed Association Agreements get more benefits, especially within the…
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EU & Azerbaijan: What Partnership is Possible?
By Licinia Simao Relations with Azerbaijan represent a challenge to the EU and its Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). This is largely due to Azerbaijan’s difficult balance between its strategic importance for EU energy security, Baku’s commitment to a multi-vectored foreign policy, and the defense of normative values that underpin European integration and the EU’s external relations…
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EDSN Cited in LSE Analysis
As it was originally conceived, the EDSN project was envisioned to be a long-term endeavor that would cultivate Eurasia-focused scholars and policy entrepreneurs to advocate for Euro-Atlantic conditionality, while also making the organic case for internal reforms. Long-term success is the goal, but some more immediate evidence of impact is always nice to see. Writing…
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Keeping Armenia Close to the EU
Licinia Simao The upcoming Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit, which will take place in Brussels on November 24, will be filled with symbolism for EU-Armenia relations. Four years after Armenia backed away from signing an Association Agreement to join instead the Eurasian Economic Union, the two partners are finally ready to formally sign a new tailor-made…
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The Mayor and the Footballer
Lincoln Mitchell In Georgia’s recent local elections, Kakha Kaladze won handily in his bid to become Tbilisi’s mayor. As the nominee of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Kaladze was the strong favorite in an election where the ultimate outcome was never really in doubt. Perhaps understandably, the international media has not paid much attention to…