About

The second phase of the JENA-CAUC project builds on the research results achieved in the initial phase, and develops further conceptual and empirical focal points, considering recent dramatic events (Russia's war in Ukraine; war over Nagorno-Karabakh). The central theme is still resilience, now expanded to incorporate the concepts of local agency, differentiation, and pragmatism, and to include all three South Caucasian states. The “Zeitenwende,” or turning point, has shown that resilience building on the part of the EU can only be effective if local contexts are better taken into account, and if more pragmatic action is taken at the same time. Therefore, JENA-CAUC 2.0 focuses not only on political actors at the highest levels (e.g., the EU, national governments), but also examines local-level social actors as representatives of diverse social groups, as well as the multifaceted interactions between these actors in different areas, such as security policy, environmental policy, minority policy, and civil society. This project can thus make a significant contribution to research on the relationship between political and social actors in the South Caucasus.

Structure and Participants

JENA-CAUC 2.0 is designed and executed by the same research team that participated in the initial research phase.

The second phase of the project again utilizes the support of a Scientific Advisory Board comprised of members from the FSU Jena, German partner institutes, and cooperation partners in the Caucasus.

Project Objectives and Conceptual Framework

The project aims to analyze the impact of the changing times and the changes in German/European policy towards the states and societies of the South Caucasus using an interdisciplinary research approach. Additionally, a core objective is to, at least partially, fill the identified gaps in the research literature. Various political and social areas will be examined, ranging from political change and reforms to minority policy and security and environmental policies.

While the central theme for JENA-CAUC 2.0 continues to be resilience, the conceptual framework has been expanded to include the concepts of local agency, differentiation, and pragmatism. The evolving sociopolitical shifts that JENA-CAUC 2.0 examines have demonstrated the need to engage more intensively with local conditions. Therefore, along with high-level political actors (e.g., the EU, national governments), the subprojects also focus on local-level social actors and the multifaceted interactions between these groups.