4th European Border Dialogues

ForumVugar Bayramov,

CESD, Azerbaijan

November, 2013

Joensuu, Finland

Root Causes of Conflicts

Territorial – (Endogenous –EN)

Ethnic – (EN)

Great power politics (Exogenous- EX)

Absence of Welfare State- EN

Weakness of formal and informal institutions (civil society, public institutions, media and etc.)- EN

Pro-conflict oriented propagandistic PR- EN

Underdeveloped educational system- EN

Historical legacy -EN

Real Character of the Conflicts

External Actors (Russia, EU, USA AND Turkey and Iran)

Endogenous (social-economic development and democracy)

Ethnic and territorial characters

What are the causal mechanisms at play?

International law standards related to territorial integrity and self-determination

Propaganda

Spheres of influence; Russian near abroad policy;

Conflict oriented social tension

Weak or non-existing grassroots dialogue;

Constructions of hatred and enmity images and identity in the media discourses

Effectiveness and efficiency of education; Strong ideological education directed to increasing the inter-societal tensions; Lack of peace-oriented education directed to peaceful coexistence.

Promoting and/or maintaining, passing to the future generations the historical rivalry records

Institutional Approach to CBC

Transition of Institution-building process; that entails the dismantling and the reformation of old organizations and institutions (legal, economic as well as social), the establishment of new organizations, and the improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of existing institutions, is an important element of democratic development for several reasons.

Lack of Strong Institutions; they are not only critically vital in order to have a well-functioning democracy, but they also have a crucial role in strengthening stability, providing security and promoting Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC).

The last two-decade history of the three Caucasian countries indicates that institution-building processes aim at: (a) creating the very basic institutions of a democratic regime, (b) targeting internal and external peace, and (c) achieving economic development.

Democratization and CBC

Questions: Does increased citizen participation and democratization level lead to more peaceful inter-regional policy? The democracy-security nexus in the Caucasus particularly in how they affect each other lies at the heart of CBC? Intra-state security?

Respond: It has been argued that democratization can contribute to more civic engagement, civil war onset and interstate war onset but it should be noted that there are question marks about the strength of these findings (Cederman, Hug, and Krebs 2010; Bayer and Bernhard 2010).

Developmentalism and CBC

- The ideology of developmentalism is an indispensible element of political and economic transition and most necessarily, political, economic and institutional development are closely linked;

- As an aspect of development and political economy of the region, it is also necessary to note poverty, unemployment, and shadow economic activities people engage in for individual survival (also linked to cross-border interdependencies such as migration and trade);

- Thus, an expansive perspective on development requires not only looking at the issue of growth, or the development of the institutions of a liberal economy, but also to the issue of CBC.

Recommendations

Clear Defining of International law standards

Peace Oriented propaganda

Peace oriented social performance

Promoting grassroots dialogue;

Civil Society Dialogue

Thank You

CESD

www.cesd.az