Analysis - Apr 1, 2013 0:02 - 0 Comments

Education As a Conflict Promoter: The Nagorno-Karabakh Example

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In conflict-affected countries, education can serve both as a conflict-promoter and facilitator of peace.  It is more likely that education will be utilized as a conflict promoter in newly independent and undemocratic states. A newly independent state involved in a territorial or ethnic conflict expects and calculates different kinds of security threats by the opposite side. It holds the population in a perpetual state of war preparedness fueled by hatred and antagonism against the enemy. The use of education as a conflict promoter, therefore, becomes a vital policy component aimed at preserving national security.

The use of education as a conflict promoter is evident within the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Despite the ceasefire and ongoing peace negotiations, both Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders have been preparing their constituency for a renewed war rather than peace. Education, therefore, has been mainly used as a propaganda tool. History and other textbooks have been altered and used as brainwashing and influencing methods on the younger generation.

As it is with other territorial conflicts, within the Nagorno-Karabakh context, both conflict sides are always keen to prove by any means possible that these lands historically belong to them and that the opposite side arrived after them. This is reflected throughout the educational system, including history textbooks and classes. Each side tries to de-emphasize the opposite side’s roots and presence in the region as much as possible. Even if the name of the other side is mentioned in some sentences, it is written in such a way so that it does not draw special attention. Education based on these altered books leads to one-sided understanding and groundless preconceptions about the other. For instance, students begin to think that if the opposite side’s name (nation’s name) is not . . . Read More

Analysis - Apr 1, 2013 0:01 - 0 Comments

An overview of the USA and Russia’s interests through the prism of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

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The South Caucasus is believed to be a significant geopolitical point in the world. For example, Brzezinski (1997) considers it as the “Eurasian Balkans”, taking into account its importance and tensions. Especially during the past two decades, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has had considerable influence in the geopolitical atmosphere of the region. Consequently, geopolitical rivalries have been concentrated on that conflict, too. This paper reviews Russia’s and USA’s interests in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The hypothesis of this work is that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, for security and instrumental factors, has an influential role for both Russian and American interests in the South Caucasus.

Since the start of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, USA and Russia have pursued various interests in and around that conflict. Their behaviors come from some circumstances both directly and indirectly related to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. In this work, I review three dimensions of the interests of these actors: energy, geographic and geopolitical-instrumental. The structure of those interests is a complex one, shaping a system with four level triangles.

  1. The first level involves the three non-recognized and partly recognized subjects of the South Caucasus, namely Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The interests of the USA and Russia link to Nagorno-Karabakh somewhat through Abkhazia and South Ossetia as well, since all of them are undivided parts of the region and serve either as obstacles or as tools for the two great powers. Hence, developments on one of those conflicts definitely affect the whole geopolitical environment of the others as well.
  2. The second level triangle includes the three recognized states of the South Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. As the core subjects of the region, all of them are . . . Read More

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