Climate change is affecting the entire South Caucasus region, which includes vast mountain ecosystems and remote coastal areas. The human security implications of climate change are likely to become more pronounced over time.
Following the violent escalation of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, the region has witnessed an inflow of foreign fighters and volunteers supporting each faction. On the one hand, members of the Armenian diaspora have travelled to the Caucasus, answering the call of Yerevan to defend the disputed land.
The North Caucasus is the most ethnically diverse and restive region of the Russian Federation. Administratively it is organized into seven autonomous republics with varying degrees of ethnic heterogeneity and proneness to violence. Moscow waged two wars against separatist Chechnya in the two decades and eventually succeeded to secure control over the territory by installing and supporting a local strongman, Ramzan Kadyrov, as the ruler of the republic.
From Russia's point of view, the reintegration of the former Soviet Union countries in the Eurasian format is determined mainly by the geopolitical and security interests, rather than the economic ones. The first year of the existence of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) will show if this integration project will succeed in the future.