Vahram Soghomonyan

European Integration and Hegemony in the South Caucasus

Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia on the Way to Europe

Nomos Universitätsschriften – Politik, Bd. 140, 2007

ISBN 978-3-8329-2403-4

On January 25 the DAAD German Academic Exchange Service organizes Vahram Soghomonyan’s “European Integration and Hegemony in the South Caucasus” book presentation (Nomos Publishing House, Germany). The event was attended by political scientists, experts and representatives of NGOs.

Abstract:

In the course of a comprehensive value change in the South Caucasus, Armenia and Georgia are trying to uphold their European identity. At the same time, oil interests challenge the democrati¬zation of Azerbai¬jan. Meanwhile, the political landscape of the South Caucasus is strongly distinguished by the '88 Karabakh movement and the Rose revolution. The growing consensus for integration is fostering a regional cooperation model within the European framework.

Which social forces and capital interests, such as the capital of Diaspora and oil companies are pushing forward the Europeanization of the region? These and other issues discussed in the study describe the current reconfiguration process, which raises the question of Europe’s borders and emphasizes the role of the South Caucasus as a geopolitical bridgehead.

Vahram Soghomonyan (born 1977) graduated from German Studies Department of Yerevan State University. From 2002 until 2006 he worked as a member of European Integration Research Group under the supervision of Prof. Frank Deppe and Prof. Hans-Jürgen Bieling at the Institute for Political Science, Philipps University of Marburg. In 2005, the author was awarded with the DAAD 2005 prize – for outstanding dissertation on politically significant subject.