ABSTRACT
The wider Caucasus region has historically been an arena for competition between Russia, Turkey and Iran and there is a long history of conflict and cooperation between the three actors in the area. As discussed in Chapter 2, the region’s geostrategic significance as a crossroads between east and west means that it has been squeezed by successive empires, including the Persian, Ottoman and Russian. Until its integration into the Russian Empire in the 19th century, the South Caucasus constituted the northern periphery of the Ottoman and Persian empires and was a battleground, as well as a buffer, between the three. The rivalry for influence in the region continues today, with each of the regional powers concerned that the others are seeking to dominate the area and exclude its competitors. This means that, although these three states have a key role to play in the development of stable regional relations and cross-border collaboration, there is little cooperation between them (or willingness to cooperate) at the state-level. The interests of Turkey and Iran are inextricably linked with those of the South Caucasus states, reflecting Ismailov’s categorisation of the region as the ‘Southern Caucasus’, which includes the three states, as well as the areas of Turkey that border Armenia and Georgia and the northwestern part of Iran.1 This understanding of the region highlights the impact of the legacy of empire, migration and arbitrary borders that leave ethnic groups spread across different states.
