ABSTRACT
The Southern Caucasus, commonly referred to as the Transcaucasus, has long served as a key arena for competing regional powers. For much of the past two centuries, the Transcaucasus has been hostage to the competing interests of the dominant regional actors: Russia, Turkey and Iran. And this historical legacy is matched by the realities and vulnerabilities of the current security situation in the region. The three states of the Transcaucasus - Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia - each face a difficult course of economic and political reform, systemic transition and nation-building. The region also continues to struggle in overcoming the legacy of constraints and challenges stemming from seven decades of Soviet rule.
