Past events

26 November, 2025: Public Round Table in cooperation with ZOiS (Berlin)

The EU and Germany in the South Caucasus: Arising Insecurities and New Visions?External link

This panel explores how recent geopolitical ruptures and the evolving regional power and security order have reshaped the EU and Germany’s positioning in the South Caucasus.

In the context of a scramble for influence by external powers in the South Caucasus, the panellists will discuss Europe’s capacity to act as a stabilising force and mediator in response to the growing illiberalism and geopolitical tensions in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Bringing in perspectives from politics, diplomacy and policy analysis, the session will assess the plausibility of the renewed call for a unified EU strategy towards the region and Germany’s contribution in terms of a more structured engagement.

Moderator: Tiffany G. Williams (Friedrich Schiller University Jena)

Speakers:

• Könül de Moor (International Crisis Group, South Caucasus)
• Franziska Smolnik (German Institute for International and Security Affairs)
• Deren Derya (European External Action Service)
• Robin Wagener (Alliance 90/The Greens, Member of the German Bundestag)

This discussion is part of the semi-public workshop 'Geopolitical Shifts and Domestic Reconfigurations in the South Caucasus'. The event is a cooperation between Caucasus Studies at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the ZOiS Caucasus Network.

December 9, 14.00-15.30: Roundtable: Georgia after the parliamentary elections

Location: Kleiner Sitzungssaal, Rosensäle, Fürstengraben 27, Jena

On October 26, parliamentary elections were held in Georgia, widely regarded as fraudulent, resulting in a contested victory for the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party with an alleged 54% of the vote, granting them the mandate to govern for another four years. The major opposition parties, elected to parliament, chose to boycott their mandates, while President Salome Zourabishvili declared the elections “illegitimate”. Shortly after, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced the suspension of Georgia's EU accession talks and the rejection of EU financial aid until 2028. Since then, mass protests have erupted across the country, with people voicing their dissatisfaction to what they call a “pro-Russian” government, and demanding a return to Georgia’s European path, renewed elections or even regime change.How did Georgia arrive at this point, and what are the broader implications of these political decisions for Georgian society and the country's political future? In this roundtable discussion, we aim to place these developments in a larger context by analyzing both domestic and external reactions and decisions which followed the elections. We will focus on four key areas: internal politics, including GD’s political narratives and the governmental-opposition dynamics; the constitutional dimension of the political crisis; the positions of universities and the implications on the scientific community; and finally the EU’s and Russia’s reactions towards the events in Georgia. Our goal is to provide a nuanced understanding of Georgia's political developments at this critical juncture. The discussion will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.      

Roundtable Programpdf, 336 kb · de

November 9-10, 2023: Conference South Caucasus after “Zeitenwende”: Dimensions of translocality and societal change

The conference is organized within the framework of the research project entitled, “Resilience in the South Caucasus: prospects and challenges of a new EU foreign policy concept” (JENA-CAUC), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The goal of the conference is to unpack the societal, economic, political, and security-related consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine for the South Caucasus region, and the transformational changes taking place in the region since the war. A Keynote by PD Dr. Tsypylma Darieva from the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOIS), will open the conference, and it will end with a Round Table discussion on South Caucasus after the “Zeitenwende”The conference will be held on-site. For further information please visit our Facebook page or write an email to jenacauc@uni-jena.de

Conference Programpdf, 347 kb · de

November 3-4, 2022: Conference Bouncing back or moving forward? Contextualizing “Resilience” in the South Caucasus

Tbilisi State University

The conference is organized within the framework of the research project entitled, “Resilience in the South Caucasus: prospects and challenges of a new EU foreign policy concept” (JENA-CAUC), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The goal of the conference is to advance the understanding of the resilience concept and its practical application within the context of the South Caucasus. A Keynote by Professor. Elena Korosteleva from the University of Warwick (https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/schoolforcross-facultystudies/igsd/about/people/ekorosteleva/External link), will open the conference, and it will end with a Round Table discussion on regional, national and European identity in the South Caucasus.

The conference will be held on-site. For further information please visit our Facebook page or write an email to jenacauc@uni-jena.de.

Conference flyerpdf, 71 kb · de

October 18 - October 20, 2019: Second International Circassian Conference

Caucasus Studies will participate with a session on the Circassian language in the "Second International Circassian Conference" in Nurnberg, Germany, October 18 - October 20, 2019. The conference is devoted to the Circassian history, culture and language and possible ways of preserving, developing and spreading knowledge about the Circassian people and their rich traditions. There will be a special session about developing teaching materials, enhancing the orthography and language teaching and revitalization chaired by Diana Forker.

More information and the cfp [pdf 605KB]External link