ABSTRACT
The ethno-political conflicts in the region that raged in the early 1990s led to the death of over 50,000 people, great material destruction, and contributed significantly to the political instability, economic hardships, and the increase in transnational organized crime that has characterized the region in its first decade of independence. The South Caucasus has in the last few years been increasingly affected by other security threats of a more transnational nature, including organized crime, specifically trafficking of narcotics, arms and persons, and the rise of Islamic radical movements. While these are all internal security threats, the international environment surrounding the region compounds the regional scene. Meanwhile, the increasing strategic value of the region and the actual and potential exacerbation of security threats over time imply a prohibitive potential cost of inaction on the part of the international community, especially Western powers with increasingly vital interests in the stability, openness and development of the region.
