Rome, Italy, September 13, 2021 - Since the end of the most recent Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict on 9 November 2020, new and often competing diplomatic and governmental efforts have emerged and have begun to re-shape relationships between the regional players and the global powers who seek to influence the area.  It is the mission of the Regional Stability in South Caucasus Study Group to improve understanding of the multi-varied environment and making sound policy recommendations based upon that understanding. The opportunities to build lasting stability are there, so too are the risks of aggravating existing tensions or creating new ones especially between competing global and regional powers.

In an effort to tackle these issues The Partnership for Peace Consortium, together with our partners, the Austrian National Defence Academy and the Directorate General for Defence Policy, Austrian Ministry of Defence, Vienna, the European Geopolitical Forum, Brussels and the Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, were excited to host a workshop conducted by the Study Group. From 7-12 September, a group of thirty security professionals, members of parliament and academics were welcomed by the Austrian Military Defence Attaché in Rome, Italy and had a working discussion titled “Risks and Opportunities of the Emerging South Caucasus Regional Order”. Additionally, select members of the group took the opportunity to work on a future handbook called “Understanding the Contemporary Information Landscape”. This event marked the group’s first return to an in-person venue after 22 months of meeting online. As it has done in the past with each of its major workshops, the RSSC will publish the results of the many fruitful discussions during the week in the form of concise recommendations to policy makers.