This non-democratic and non-judicial environment breeds the kind of populism among leaders that we witness in Armenia, Georgia and particularly in Azerbaijan. Constitutions, which, by definition, affirm the prevalence of law over governmental fiat, have little meaning where the notion of an independent judiciary is nonexistent.Ĭaucasus countries have taken divergent paths It distorts the relationship between government and the governed, raising expectations that can’t be met, and obstructing progress that could be taking place elsewhere in society. Pretence at democratisation is dangerous and counterproductive. There are similarities but of a divisive nature: The imitation of democracy and a lack of an independent judiciary – albeit to different degrees and in different forms. Armenia went in the other direction by joining the Eurasian Union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, becoming part of a customs union that will enable free trade among the four with common customs regulations. Georgia recently signed the Association Agreement with the European Union joining the Union’s free trade zone while committing to reforms that will strengthen the European value system in Georgia.
Georgia aspires to NATO membership Azerbaijan does not, and has strong security arrangements with Turkey and Israel while purchasing modern military hardware from Russia.
Armenia is a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation, while Georgia and Azerbaijan are not. What divides these countries today is not religion, ethnicity, culture, history, or traditions it is the differing visions, prospects, ambitions, convictions, and aspirations that they espouse and pursue. It is hard to think of another region in the world where three neighbouring countries, with at least seven decades of a common past, have taken such divergent paths in their political orientations and state building processes as the three republics of the Caucasus – Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
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