Contemporary Eurasia

Asia-pacific theater in focus: comparison of weapons systems of near-peer competitors, current issues

Artsrun Hovhannisyan — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Comparison of military capabilities and weapons systems that can be brought to bear in case of regional crisis by near-peer competitors in Asian-Pacific, namely the USA, China, and Russia, is increasingly taking a prominent place in contemplations of academic community. Add to this equation the capabilities of such “middle-weight” military powers as the both Koreas, Japan, and other countries of the South China Sea (SCS), and we have an increasingly contested and congested region, where the balance of forces is positively worth studying. To begin with, regardless of numerous incentives for cooperation, first of all for the sake of trade relations, the United States and China are also indirectly facing off on a number of issues in Western Pacific, including on Pyongyang’s behavior and China’s assertiveness in SCS, to name but a few. Following a fairly tough response of the United States to North Korea, the problem of balance of forces in Asian-Pacific strategic realm, in fact, is becoming more vital. After the American new administration came to power, there was a certain tension in the relations with China as it was. One should take into account that it has been already several years there exist problems in relations between China and Japan as well in respect of laying claims to certain disputed islands. Rumors are flying that China is actively creating artificial islands which can become military strongholds far from its shores at approximately operational depth. Philippines and Vietnam are seriously concerned in that regard. This tension is already manifested in concrete actions and statements.

The military doctrine of Azerbaijan: assessing the implementation process and policy implication

Tina Kharatyan — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

In June 2010 the Military Doctrine was adopted in Azerbaijan, and new policies were put into implementation based on the vision of the document. The MD has become the proper installation of Azerbaijani aspirations to restore territorial integrity by any means including military operations. The document provided an impetus to spend billions of dollars on purchasing weaponry, developing army structure, constructing new military bases and enlarging arms production. Policies derived from the Doctrine not only pushed the rapid military growth of Azerbaijan but led to the high level of public securitization as well. Therefore, this research has an aim to assess the causation between the document adoption and defense policies, which were implemented to guide the military build-up of Azerbaijan and achieve social unity legitimizing the possibility of war.

The 2016 coup attempt in Turkey: a result of changing civil-military balance in Turkey

Hranush Dermoyan — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

In 2016 Turkey made headlines with yet another coup, however, this time with an unsuccessful outcome. While there were many similarities with previous coups, there were also major differences. After the failed coup, people showed unprecedented support for the civilian government. Military commanders of different units made statements assuring their loyalty to the civilian government. Although purges, martial law and arrest followed the coup attempt, which was nothing new after a military intervention, this time roles had been reversed. It was the civilian government which purged the military and removed unwanted people. The paper argues that the 2016 military coup attempt failed as the military’s political power had been weakened following reforms implemented under the demand of the EU in the 2000s. There was also obvious fragmentation in the military as only one faction participated in the plot.

Radical Islam in Russia: the case of Tatarstan

Liana Hayrapetyan — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The spread of Radical Islam among Russian Muslim is a central issue for the authorities of Russia. The first conflict in Chechnya facilitated the radicalization of Islam in the North Caucasus. Chechen warlords became involved in terrorism and organized terror bombings in Moscow in 1999, thus making terrorism a domestic issue for Russia. Hence the second Russian military campaign in Chechnya was labeled as counter-terrorism operation. In Volga-Ural region the situation was stable. However, Tatarstan has been encountering the issue of the radicalism since the beginning of the 21st century. During the 2010s there were several Islamic jamaats, which were involved in terror attacks in the territory of Tatarstan (mostly bombing pipelines), international Wahhabi organizations are active in Tatarstan. The terror attack in Kazan in July 2012, when the Mufti of Tatarstan was injured, indicated the strong presence of radicals in the region. The attack made the authorities of Tatarstan take severe approaches towards the radicals. The law enforcement bodies operate professionally: those who are suspected to have radical views are immediately caught and imprisoned. The active propaganda of traditional Islam in which the state is also involved is another way to prevent the radicalization of the region. Though the Wahhabi presence remains, the situation in Tatarstan is stable due to the work of the law enforcement bodies.

Saudi Arabia-Qatar. From cooperation to confrontation

Araks Pashayan — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

On June 5, 2017, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and its allies subjected Qatar to a series of boycotts and blockades. The initiative came from KSA, which was concerned over Qatar’s growing ambitions to become an influential state in the region. In these terms, the launch of the blockade was intended to diminish Qatar’s political autonomy and economic independence. Qatar never saw its tiny population and territory as a barrier to an independent foreign policy or regional influence. It should be noted that as early as in March 2014, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recalled representatives of their countries’ diplomatic missions from Doha, as Qatar authorities had not actually fulfilled their set-forth demands.1 At that time Qatar was accused of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood2 through the Middle East and North Africa and beyond, as well as establishing dangerous cooperation with Turkey and Iran. The causes of the crisis are directly related also to the coming to power new, young, and ambitious leaders in KSA, Qatar, and UAE who have become the very architects of drawing new milestones of foreign policy for their countries. Saudi Arabia and its allies after the turmoil of the Arab Spring, pushed for Qatar to accept its subordinate status.

The new strategy of the U.S. Middle east policy and Egypt

Gor Gevorgyan — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

After the collapse of the USSR, the United States further activated its policy in different continents with the aim of replenishing the so-called “vacuum space” that had resulted from the collapse of the bipolar system. In the light of formation of new correlation of world forces, the American foreign policy focused mostly on those parts of the world that were of direct importance to US national security. In this regard, the official Washington proposed a new concept of geopolitical perception on the global region to regulate its vital issues and secure its influence in the Middle East and North Africa region, which at the same time would allow the United States to set direct control over specific countries, “managing” their key economic resources, as well as ensuring the security of its traditional ally Israel. The new American concept assumed “reconstruction” of the Middle East and North Africa region and “modernization and transformation” of the countries in the region. By initiating the process, the United States tried to impose the so-called “American democracy” model in the region.

The Kurdish factor in Iraq-gulf Arab states relations

Mushegh Ghahriyan — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The paper aims to study the process of slow-going normalization of the relations of Iraq and the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf and the Kurdish factor in that context. The Kurdish issue is the most complicated problem in Iraq and poses threat to its integrity. Any country that has political and economic interests in Iraq and develops relationship with it also will have to deal with the ethnic and sectarian problems in the country, involving the Kurdish issue. The paper also examines the economic, political interests of the Gulf countries in Iraq and the Kurdish Region. It argues that the current political situation in the Middle East creates opportunities for rapprochement of the sides, however needs special, careful and balanced attitude from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries.

Russia and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: spoiling through mediation?

Lilit Galstyan — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The aim of this research is to examine the role of the Russian leadership in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and to understand whether they were mediating the conflict or spoiling its peaceful resolution. The cases of Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev are illustrated in order to compare their efforts to reach a peaceful resolution to the NK conflict. The methodology of study comprises secondary data analysis and content analysis of six presidential statements. As a result, based on the analyzed data we conclude that Russia neither spoiled nor mediated the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh by being content with the current state of frozen negotiations over Nagorno- Karabakh. What is more, from the analysis of findings we conclude that compared to Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev made significant efforts to put the NK conflict on the edge of its resolution.

Conflicts from the perspective of nationalism: case of Georgia

Zurab Targamadze — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Georgia is a country, with two existing conflicts. The majority of the population thinks that conflicts emerged in the last century. It is believed, that the problem is only political and related to the geopolitical condition. We fully agree with the position according to which the current political conflicts between Georgians and Abkhazians and Georgians and Ossetians has been provoked by Russia in the beginning and moreover for the end of the twentieth century. But, now we try to observe these conflicts from the perspective of Nationalism. According to the current theories, development of such collective-cultural identities, like ethnic groups and moreover the nations depend on many sensitive aspects. Except for economic, political and territorial issues, the most important is faith of common myths and symbols. The birth of nationalism, on which the formation of nation is based, is closely related and even inspired by the cultural conceptualization. In such time the strong feeling of authenticity and therefore neediness of separating from the other ones becomes inevitable. In the 18th century, cultural movement, which aroused in the Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti, contained important ethno-cultural messages, according to which the Georgian unity sharply was divided from the others. In 19th century Ilia Chavchavadze, the founder of Georgian Nation, tried to rethink and shape new identity perception. However, since 1921, after the sovietization Georgian nationalism entirely was concentrated on the ethnical and religious moments. In the presented paper, considering the historical past, we will try to understand the modern challenges faced Georgian society.

Azerbaijan’s involvement in international terrorism

Kristne Margaryan — Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The Islamic revival in Azerbaijan gave a start to the processes of radicalization and the society’s involvement in international terrorism. The radicalization was the result of both domestic and external factors. Under the domestic factors, the study examined the policy measures towards the religious belief and activities, and such external factors as Iranian, North Caucasian and Middle Eastern influences. What analysis has shown is the increased tendency of radicalization. Oppressive policy measures restricted freedoms of the society making them more radicalized. In addition, in line with having imposed restrictions people are becoming more vulnerable to external religious influence. A number of Azerbaijanis continue staying in the ranks of terrorist groups, while others leave the country for reviving the training and afterwards joining the terrorist groups. All those findings suggest that there are prospects of further radicalization, which push the society towards the involvement in international terrorism.