ABSTRACT

The Routledge Handbook of the Caucasus offers an integrated, multidisciplinary overview of the historical, ethno-linguistic, cultural, socio-economic and political complexities of the Caucasus. Covering both the North and South Caucasus, the book gathers together leading Western, Caucasian and Russian scholars of the region from different disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Following a thorough introduction by the editors, the handbook is divided into six parts which combine thematic and chronological principles:

  • Place, peoples and culture
  • Political history
  • The contemporary Caucasus: politics, economics and societies
  • Conflict and political violence
  • The Caucasus in the wider world
  • Societal and cultural dynamics.

This handbook will be an essential reference work for scholars interested in Russian and Eastern-European studies, Eurasian history and politics, and religious and Islamic studies.

part I|68 pages

Place, peoples and culture

chapter 2|13 pages

Caucasus paradigms revisited

chapter 3|20 pages

Peoples, languages and lore

chapter 4|16 pages

The early Christian Caucasus 1

chapter 5|17 pages

The Muslim Caucasus

The role of ‘adats and shari‘ah

part II|69 pages

Political history

chapter 6|20 pages

The ‘long millennium’

The Caucasus from the medieval to the early modern periods

chapter 8|15 pages

Between the Russian Empire and the USSR

The independence of Transcaucasia as a socio-political transformation

chapter 9|18 pages

The Soviet Caucasus, 1920–91

Resistance and accommodation

part III|83 pages

The contemporary Caucasus

chapter 10|19 pages

Azerbaijan

Politics, society and economy since independence

chapter 11|15 pages

The new Georgia

Politics, economy and society

chapter 12|14 pages

Armenia

From revolution to revolution

chapter 13|16 pages

The north-eastern Caucasus

Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia

chapter 14|18 pages

The north-western Caucasus

Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachaevo-Cherkessia and Adygea

part IV|65 pages

Conflict and political violence

chapter 15|18 pages

Ethno-territorial and secessionist conflicts

Causes and trajectories

chapter 16|16 pages

Unrecognised statehood?

The de facto states of the South Caucasus

chapter 17|15 pages

Jihadist violence in the North Caucasus

Political, social and economic factors

chapter 18|14 pages

Transnational Salafi and jihadist networks

From an independent insurgency to a leaderless network

part V|71 pages

The Caucasus in the wider world

chapter 19|14 pages

Russia in the Caucasus

chapter 20|14 pages

The South Caucasus and the West

From hegemony to contestation

chapter 21|16 pages

Turkey and the Caucasus

Mutual interests and influences in the post-Soviet era

chapter 22|12 pages

The Caucasus and Iran

chapter 23|14 pages

The Caucasus and the Caspian Sea

Legality, energy politics and regional security

part VI|55 pages

Societal and cultural dynamics

chapter 26|15 pages

Civil society in the Caucasus

Voluntary youth organisations

chapter 27|12 pages

New media and digital activism

Comparing Armenia and Chechnya