Nagorno-Karabakh

More than twenty years after the armistice agreement the conflict around Nagorno-Karabakh could still not be resolved. On the contrary, it is characterized by reoccurring phases of violent escalation which involve the danger of a new war. The peace process between the conflicting parties Armenia and Azerbaijan did not achieve any lasting results, despite the efforts of international actors like Russia and the OSCE Minsk Group, jointly chaired by France, Russia and the USA.

New approaches to conflict resolution as well as more dialog and mutual understanding are thus urgently needed. The project, realized with the support of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), aims at finding new scientific approaches to the conflict situation as well as at enabling dialog between young researchers and politicians from the conflicting countries. In the course of the project, international conferences at different locations are to gradually establish a platform for dialog and exchange at the academic and political level. So far, two conferences have taken place; further events are planned.

Arnoldshain 

The first conference “Nagorno-Karabakh peace process: on the role of justice for conflict resolution” took place from 23 to 27 November 2012 at the Evangelische Akademie Arnoldshain near Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The discussion focused on the role of justice claims in the peace process in Nagorno-Karabakh which has been so far widely neglected in academic debate on the topic. In the course of the conference, new approaches to explaining the irreconcilable positions on the part of the conflicting parties and the lack of progress in the peace process could be provided.

Among others, Dr. Aleksander Iskandaryan (Caucasus University Yerevan), Dr. Rasim Musabeyov (Member of Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan), Christine Weil (German Federal Foreign Office, Berlin), Dr. Peer Stanchina (Former Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Azerbaijan) as well as Prof. Dr. Egbert Jahn from the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main participated in the discussions.

Tbilisi

The second conference „International Peace Forum Caucasus: Identities as an obstacle for conflict resolution in the region?” took place from 22 to 27 June 2015 in Tbilisi, Georgia. The event was organized in cooperation with the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies (GFSIS). Topics like the ambivalent role of (national) identities in the South Caucasus and their effect on conflict dynamics in the region were discussed. Departing from this analysis, the discussion aimed at identifying conditions under which these identities can be transformed and used for peaceful conflict settlement.

Among others, Ambassador Dr. Günther Bächler, former Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to Georgia, Ambassador Giorgi Badridze as well as the renowned scientists Kakha Gogolashvili (GFSIS), Dr.  Altay Goyushev (State University Baku), Dr. Artak Ayunts (Eurasia Partnership Foundation), Prof. Dr. Lothar Brock and Prof. Dr. Egbert Jahn (both from the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main) participated in the conference.