Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies
Joštova 10, 602 00 Brno, Česká republika
T: +420 549 49 6761, E: bechna@fss.muni.cz, www.fss.muni.cz
IREn5019 No War, No Peace: Frozen Conflicts in the Caucasus
Syllabus
Fall 2022
Lecturer: Mgr. Zinaida Bechná, Ph.D.
Wednesdays: 10:00 – 11:40, U33
Office Hours: Office # 4.67, every Tuesday 13:00 -14:00 and by appointment
Office Phone: 549 49 6761
E-mail: bechna@fss.muni.cz
Goals and Objectives
The course is designed to familiarize students with unresolved conflicts in one of the
most volatile regions of the world – the Caucasus. Armed conflicts in this region
represent one of the biggest challenges that emerged with the break of the Soviet Union.
Frozen conflicts in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh, Chechen wars, the
Ingush-Ossetian conflict, along with the multi-ethnic clashes in Dagestan and
Kabardino-Balkaria make incredibly complex and unique cases for the analysis.
Patterns of political, economic, cultural discrimination, intensified by historical
grievances, the effects of political transformation and economic development, national
doctrines, the role of external actors, have all contributed to the no war no peace
situation in this volatile region. That created a challenge for the conflict analysis and has
led to the development of different interpretations emphasizing the role of weak states,
economic depression, and external support.
The major objective of this course is to provide a solid, elaborate picture of the
conflict processes and mechanisms in the Caucasus region. This small area has a
high number of unresolved “frozen” conflicts, which might lead to an escalation in the
future. In order to understand the logic of violence and trace the path of evolution of the
life cycle of these conflicts, the course is based both on theoretical with empirical
knowledge. The readings illustrate the variety of theoretical perspectives and data
collection methods to study armed conflicts in general and the unresolved conflicts in
the Caucasus region in particular.
One of the primary goals of this course is to develop the analytical skills and practice
critical analysis of the students. In order to cultivate such skills students will be
required to apply academic knowledge on to the actual situation in the ground. This will
include investigation of factors that affect conflict (re)escalation processes, the role
of external actors, democratic development and possible ways for conflict
resolution.
Understanding the fragile peace arrangements or the reasons for the impossibility
for resolution is significant. Studying the evolution of changing nature of these
conflicts along with the packages of factors (both internal and external) that may
Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies
Joštova 10, 602 00 Brno, Česká republika
T: +420 549 49 6761, E: bechna@fss.muni.cz, www.fss.muni.cz
reignite large-scale violence, students will explore the possible ways of resolution of
these conflicts in future.
Course goals
By the end of the semester, students will be able to identify, analyze and evaluate who
were the conflict parties? What were the parties´ incompatible goals, values and
interests? What were the trigger events and issues at stake? How the conflicts evolved
and why they have never been resolved?
The learning outcomes of the course will enable students upon completion to:
1. Engage critically with different theories of ethnic conflicts.
2. Obtain a broad knowledge of the conflict escalations process in the Caucasus region.
3. Acquire insights of how political developments, socio-economic process and
systemic features resulted into the outbreak of violence.
4. Examine the nature of conflicts in the Caucasus with respect to factors that generates
those conflicts and their change in time.
5. Acquire knowledge of international engagement towards conflict settlement and
establishment of democratic institutions in the Caucasus.
Plagiarism
Use of material written by another person without proper attribution of referencing the
source is considered to be plagiarism. The Department of International Relations and
European Studies adheres to the university´s policy
(https://www.muni.cz/study/plagiatorstvi ). Violation of this policy will be addressed by
the Disciplinary Commission. Plagiary will receive no points and the final grade will be
an F. In case of uncertainty about how to avoid plagiarism, please follow instructions
mentioned on this link (https://www.sv.uio.no/english/studies/resources/sources-andreferences/).
Please follow this link to see one of the styles of citation:
http://mve.fss.muni.cz/en/study-programs/studyagenda/citationstyle . In case you still
have questions, please consult Zinaida Bechná via email.
Requirements
I Readings: The syllabus lists mandatory readings below. Students are
responsible for completing all of these readings before every class and
coming to class prepared to discuss issues indicated for every session.
Required readings for the course are to be found in Study Materials folder in
Information System.
II Policy Papers: there will be three Policy Papers during the semester. The
length of the assignment should vary between 1800 and 3600 characters and
should be uploaded to the IS. Each of the Policy paper will be graded
between 0 and 10 points. Thus the students can obtain up to 30 points.
1. Choose one of the conflicts in the Caucasus and explain what was the
major causes of this conflict? Was the conflict
ethnic/political/economic/territorial/? Why? Due to: 6 November 2022.
2. Based on comparison of Russian and Western engagement in the
Caucasus conflicts explain one of the questions bellow:
Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies
Joštova 10, 602 00 Brno, Česká republika
T: +420 549 49 6761, E: bechna@fss.muni.cz, www.fss.muni.cz
1. How you assess the role of the EU in Nagorno Karabakh conflict? How
you assess the role of Russia in Nagorno Karabakh conflict?
2. The EU’s ambition to promote peace and stability into its neighbourhood
has often stumbled upon division, short terms interests of its member states,
lack of assertiveness and more decisive role in conflict resolution effort.
How can EU do better in Georgia? How do you access the role of Russia in
separatist areas (Abkhazia and South Ossetia)? Due to 28 November 2022.
3. What could be done for conflict resolution in the Caucasus? Choose one
conflict and draw at list three policy recommendation for the actors involved
in a conflict. Due date: 11 December 2022.
III. Final written test: The final written test will contain 10 open questions from
the mandatory literature. You will have a maximum of 60 minutes to
complete the written test and receive up to 30 points. There will be several
terms of final examination in the Information System.
IV. Final Grading: The maximum is 60 points; the minimum to complete the
course is 35 points.
A 56 – 60 points
B 51 - 55 points
C 46 - 50 points
D 41 – 45 points
E 36 – 40 points
F less than 36 points.
To receive a final grade, students have to participate in class discussions,
submit a sufficient number of Policy Papers and write the final written test
base on mandatory literature (for details see above).
Class Schedule:
Week 1: Introduction to the Post-Soviet Frozen conflicts, Definitions and trends of
different types of internal armed conflicts, course goals and requirements (14/9.2022).
Mandatory readings:
Morar, F. (2010): “The myth of “frozen conflict”: transcending illusive
dilemmas”, Concordiam: Journal of European Security and Defence Issues
1(2):10–17.
Kamil Christoph Klosek, Vojtěch Bahenský, Michal Smetana and Jan
Ludvík. (2021): „Frozen conflicts in world politics: A new dataset“, Journal
of Peace Research, Vol.58(4): 849-858.
Shevchuk, Z. (2014): “Towards the Typology of Armed Conflict,” chapter 3
in Kříž, Z. and Urbanovská, J.: Examining Armed Conflict: Theoretical
Reflections on Selected Aspects, MUNI Press, pp: 87-114.
Week 2: Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh (21/9.2022).
Mandatory readings:
Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies
Joštova 10, 602 00 Brno, Česká republika
T: +420 549 49 6761, E: bechna@fss.muni.cz, www.fss.muni.cz
Broers, Laurence (2019): “Land for Peace,” chapter 8 in “Armenia and
Azerbaijan, Anatomy of a Rivalry”, Edinburgh University Press, pp.: 276-
316.
Erik Melander (2001): The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Revisited. Was the
war Inevitable?”, Journal of the Cold War Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2., pp:48-75.
James J. Coyle (2018): “Nagorno-Karabakh”, chapter 5 in “Russia’s Border
Wars and Frozen Conflicts”, Palgrave, Macmillan , pp.: 207-256.
Thomas de Waal (2013): “Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through
Peace and War,” chapter 19: “2001-2012: Deadlock and Estrangement,”
New York: NYU Press, pp: 284 – 304.
Suggested readings:
Ozknan Behlul (2008): “Who Gains from the “No war No Peace” Situation?
A Critical Analysis of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict”, Geopolitics, Vol 13
(3), pp: 572-599.
German, T. (2012): “The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict between Azerbaijan
and Armenia: Security issue in the Caucasus”, Journal of Muslim Minority
Affairs, Vol. 32, pp. 216-229.\
Week 3: National holiday, no classes, reading week (28/9.2022).
Suggested reading: Thomas De Waal (2013): “Black Garden. Armenia and
Azerbaijan through Peace and War”, New York University Press, NY,
London.
Week 4: Second Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (5/10.2021).
Mandatory readings:
International Crisis Group (2021): “Post-war Prospects for NagornoKarabakh”,
Europe Report N.264, Brussels, available at:
https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/264-nagorno-karabakh.pdf
Leila Alieva (2020): “War in the Caucasus – Karabagh conflict: Why war?”,
International Institute for Peace, available at:
https://www.iipvienna.com/new-blog/2020/10/13/karabagh-conflict-why-
war
Suggested readings:
Gasparyan, Arsen (2019): “Understanding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict:
domestic politics and twenty-five years of fruitless negations 1994-2018,”
Caucasus Survey, Vol. 7, No. 3., pp.: 235-250.
Gamaghelyan, Philip and Rumyantsev Sergey (2021): “The road to the
Second Karabakh War: the role of ethno-centric narratives in the NagornoKarabakh
conflict,” Caucasus Survey, pp.: 1-17.
Week 5: Georgian conflicts I (12/10.2022).
Mandatory readings:
Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies
Joštova 10, 602 00 Brno, Česká republika
T: +420 549 49 6761, E: bechna@fss.muni.cz, www.fss.muni.cz
Nodia, Ghia (1997): “Causes and Visions of Conflicts in Abkhazia,” Berkley
Program in Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies, Working Paper Series, pp.: 1-52.
Petersen, Alexandros (2008): “The 1992-1993 Georgia-Abkhazia War: A
forgotten Conflict”, Caucasian Review of International Affairs, Vol. 2.,
No.4. pp.: 187-199.
Week 6: Georgian conflicts II (19/10.2022).
Mandatory readings:
Felgenhauer, P. (2009): “After August 7: The Escalation of the RussiaGeorgia
War”, chapter 9 in Cornell, S. E., Starr, S. F.: “The Guns of August
2008 Russia’s War in Georgia”, M. E. Sharpe, Armonk, New York. pp. 162-
180.
Welt, Cory (2010): The Thawing of a Frozen Conflict: The Internal Security
Dilemma and the 2004 Prelude to the Russo-Georgian War, Europe-Asia
Studies Vol. 62, Issue 1, pp. 63-97.
Gearoid O Tuathail (2013): “Russia’s Kosovo: A Critical Geopolitics of the
August 2008 War over South Ossetia,” Eurasian Geography and
Economics, No.49 (6), pp.: 670-705.
Suggested readings:
Karagiannis, Emmanuel (2013): “The 2008 Russian-Georgian war via the
lens of offensive Realism”, European Security, Vol. 22, No. 1., pp.: 74-93.
Nodia, Ghia (2012): “The August 2008 war: main consequences for Georgia
and its conflicts”, Nationalities Papers, Vol. 40. No.5., pp.: 721-738.
Shevchuk, Zinaida (2014): The Evolving Nature of the Armed Conflict in
South Ossetia: From “Frozen” to “Hot” and Back, Defence and Strategy,
Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 53-68.
Week 7: Armed Conflicts in the Northern Caucasus: the Russian-Chechen armed
conflicts (26/10.2022).
Mandatory readings:
Kramer, Mark (2004): “The Perils of Counterinsurgency. Russian’s War in
Chechnya”, International Security, Vol. 29, No. 3., pp.: 5-63.
Souleimanov, Emil; Ditrych, Ondrej (2008): “The Internationalization of
Russian-Chechen Conflict: Myths and Reality”, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol.
60., No 7., pp.: 1199-1222.
Souleimanov, Emil and Aliyev Huseyn (2015): “Blood Revenge and
Violent Mobolization: Evidence from the Chechen Wars”, International
Security, Vol.40, No.2, pp.: 158-180.
Suggested readings:
Tracey C. German (2003): “Russia’s Chechen War”, RoutledgeCurzon,
Taylor&Francis Group, London and New York.
Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies
Joštova 10, 602 00 Brno, Česká republika
T: +420 549 49 6761, E: bechna@fss.muni.cz, www.fss.muni.cz
Lyall, Jason (2010): “Are Co-ethnics More Effective Counterinsurgents?
Evidence from the Second Chechen War”, The American Political Science
Review, Vol. 104., No 1., pp.: 1-20.
Marsh, Christopher, (2016): “The desecularization of conflict: the role of
religion in Russia’s confrontation with Chechnya, 1785-Today,” The Review
of Faith & International Affairs, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp: 66-79.
Week 8: Armed Conflicts in the Northern Caucasus II (2/11.2022).
Mandatory readings:
Cornell, E. Svante (2001): “Conflicts in the North Caucasus,” chapter 6 in
“Small Nations and Great Powers. A Study of ethnopolitical conflict in the
Caucasus”, London and New York, Routledge Curzon, pp.: 241-274.
Rezvani, Babak (2010): “The Ossetian-Ingush Confrontation: Explaining a
Horizontal Conflict”, Iran and the Caucasus, Vol. 14., pp.: 419-430.
Suggested readings:
Bruce, Robert and Kisriev, Enver (2009): “Conflict and Catharsis: Why
Dagestanis Fought to Remain in Russia”, chapter 6, in: “Dagestan. Russian
Hegemony and Islamic Resistance in the Northern Caucasus”, M.E. Sharpe,
New York, London, pp.: 121-155.
Week 9: No war no peace: De facto states of the Caucasus (9/11.2022).
Mandatory readings:
Thomas de Waal (2020) : “Beyond Frozen Conflict. Scenarios for the
Separatists Disputes of Eastern Europe”, CEPS, Brussels, pp.159-227.
Suggested readings:
John O’Loughlin, Vladimir Kolossov and Gerard Toal (2015): “Inside the
post-Soviet de facto States: A comparison of attitude in Abkhazia, Nagorny
Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Transnistia,” Eurasian Geography and
Economics, Vol.55, No.5., pp: 423-456.
Week 10: The Nexus of Great Power Game: the role of Russia in the Caucasian
conflicts (16/11.2022).
Mandatory readings:
Ghia, Nodia (2022): “ The story of two Triangles: Georgia’s Russia Policies,”
chapter 10 in Tracey German, Stephen F. Jones and Kornely Kakachia (ed.):
“Georgiaś Foreign Policy in the 21 century”, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, pp.:
197-216.
Adnrás Racz (2021): “In Russia’s Hands”, Institute for Security Studies, Brief
N.8. available at:
https://www.iss.europa.eu/sites/default/files/EUISSFiles/Brief_8_2021.pdf
Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies
Joštova 10, 602 00 Brno, Česká republika
T: +420 549 49 6761, E: bechna@fss.muni.cz, www.fss.muni.cz
Gerrits, A. WM, and Max, B. (2016): “Russian patronage over Abkhazia and
South Ossetia: implications for conflict resolution,” East European Politics
Vol. 32, no. 3, pp: 297-313.
Suggested readings:
Orhan Gafarli (2022): Russia’s Role in the Karabakh Conflict” chapter 15 in
M.Hakan Yavuz, Michael Gunter: “The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict.
Historical and Political Perspective”, Routledge: London.
Kazantsev, Andrei. A., Rutland, Peter, Medvedeva Svetlana. M and
Safranchuk, Ivan. A. (2020): “Russia’s policy in the frozen conflicts” of the
post-Soviet space: from ethno-politics to geopolitics,” Caucasus Survey, Vol.
8, No. 2., pp.: 142-162.
Russell, John (2006): “Obstacles to peace in Chechnya: What scope for
international involvement?, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 58, No. 6., pp.: 941-
964.
Week 11: The Nexus of Great Power Game: the Western role in the Caucasian conflicts
(23/11.2022).
Mandatory readings:
Svante E. Cornell (2020): “The European Union and the ArmenianAzerbaijani
Conflict: Lessons Not Learned”, chapter 8 in “The international
politics of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict: the original “frozen conflict”
and European security, pp. 149 – 173.
Kornely Kakachia, Bidzina Lebanidze, Shalva Dzebisashvili (2020): "Game
of (open) Doors: NATO-Georgian Relations and Challenges for Sustainable
Partnership", Policy Paper No.18, Georgian Institute of Politics, pp. 1:22.
Whitman, Richard.G, Wolf, Stefan (2010): “The EU as a conflict manager?
The case of Georgia and its implications”, International Affairs, Vol. 86, No.
1., pp. 87-107.
Thomas De Waal (2017): “Enhancing the EU’s Engagement with Separatist
Territories”, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, pp.: 1-6.
Anar Valiyev: “Azerbaijan’s Policy Towards EU Integration: Unrecognized
Strategic Partner”, in Konrely Kakachia, Stefan Meister, Benjamin Fricke
(2018): “Geopolitics and Security. A New Strategy for the South Caucasus”,
GIP, pp.128-153.
Suggested readings:
Whitman, R. (2011): Normative Power Europe. Empirical and Theoretical
Perspectives, chapter 4 by Stewart. E.J.: Mind the Normative Gap? The EU in
the South Caucasus, Palrgrave, pp: 65 – 82.
Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies
Joštova 10, 602 00 Brno, Česká republika
T: +420 549 49 6761, E: bechna@fss.muni.cz, www.fss.muni.cz
Tsygankov, Andrei (2013): “The Russia-NATO mistrust: Ethnophobia and
the double expansion to contain the “Russian Bear”.” Communist and PostCommunist
Studies Vol. 46, Issue 1, pp. 179-188.
German, Tracey, C. (2007): “Visibly invisible: the EU Engagement in the
Conflict Resolution in the South Caucasus”, European Security, Vol. 16, No
3, pp.: 357-374.
Week 12: The impact of Ukrainian crisis on the “frozen conflicts” in the Caucasus
(30/11.2022).
Mandatory readings:
Meister Stefan (2021): „Shifting Geopolitical Realities in the South Caucasus,
SCEEUS Reports No. 8., pp:1-13.
Legucka, A. (2017): „Frozen and Freezing Conflicts in Eastern Europe and
South Caucasus: Implications for Regional Security,“ Yearbook of the
Institute of East-Central Europe, 15(2). Retrieved from
file:///C:/Users/DaanDroste/Downloads/Leguckafrozen.pdf
Ana Angduladze (2022): “Implication for Georgia of Russian Invasion of
Ukraine: Time to Act?”, Policy Brief, N.40, Georgian Institute of Politics,
pp.1-15, available at: https://gip.ge/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Policy-Brief-
40-1.pdf
Svante Cornell (2018): “The impact of the Ukraine and Syria conflicts on the
Geopolitics of the South Caucasus”, in Konrely Kakachia, Stefan Meister,
Benjamin Fricke (2018): “Geopolitics and Security. A New Strategy for the
South Caucasus”, GIP, pp.231-265.
Week 13: Scenarios of conflicts in the Caucasus: is conflict resolution possible?
(7/12.2022).
Mandatory readings:
Stefan Wolff (2021): “Conflict – Solving Mechanisms and Negotiation
Formats for Post-Soviet Protracted Conflicts: A Comparative Perspective”,
SCEEUS Report, available at:
https://www.ui.se/globalassets/evenemang/bilder-till-
programmen/sceeus/conflict-solving-mechanisms-and-negotiation-formats-
for-post-soviet-protracted-conflicts-a-comparative-perspective-sceeus-hrs-no-
5.pdf
Machitidze Ivanna (2021): „Black Sea Security Under Strain: Why the Stakes
Are Higher After Nagorno-Karabakh Ceasefire?“, Policy Paper No. 21,
Georgian Institute of Politics.
Gerrits, A. WM, and Max, B. (2016): “Russian patronage over Abkhazia and
South Ossetia: implications for conflict resolution,” East European Politics
Vol. 32, no. 3, pp: 297-313.
Russell, John (2006): “Obstacles to peace in Chechnya: What scope for
international involvement?, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 58, No. 6., pp.: 941-
964.
Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies
Joštova 10, 602 00 Brno, Česká republika
T: +420 549 49 6761, E: bechna@fss.muni.cz, www.fss.muni.cz
Suggested readings:
Whitman, Richard.G, Wolf, Stefan (2010): “The EU as a conflict manager?
The case of Georgia and its implications”, International Affairs, Vol. 86, No.
1., pp. 87-107.
Rotaru, Vasile (2018): “Russia, the EU and the Eastern Partnership: Building
Bridges or Digging Trenches?”, Chapter 2: “EU-Russia Relations between the
Cold War and Georgian War” , Columbia University Press, pp.: 39-63.
Hoch, T; Souleimanov E. and Baranec, T. (2014): Russia’s role in the official
peace process in South Ossetia, Bulletin of Geography, Socio- economic
Series Vol. 23, no. 23, pp: 53-71.