Field Reports
Uncertain Application Of Justice After Georgia's May 17 Demonstrations
by Eka Janashia (05/29/2013 issue of the CACI Anayst)
On May 24, several hundred people gathered in the Deda Ena square of downtown Tbilisi under the slogan “No to Theocracy,” to protest the violence in central Tbilisi a week earlier on the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). Activists of the NGO National Front and its supporters held a simultaneous counter-demonstration in the same square, demanding a ban on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) propaganda in Georgia. The two rallies were conducted peacefully without any serious incident, thanks to the hundreds of law enforcement personnel standing between the groups to prevent an anticipated clash.
Russia Accuses Azerbaijan Of Fraudulent Eurovision Vote
by Mina Muradova (05/29/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A diplomatic row has emerged between Russia and Azerbaijan over "stolen" points that Azerbaijan allegedly gave to its northern neighbor during the Eurovision song contest held in Malmo, Sweden, on May 18. This year, the talk of politicization of the annual competition of European pop music reached its peak. Turkey refused to participate in the contest by claiming that the latest rules in the voting system, the 50%-50% combination of jury voting and phone voting, are unfair and that the involvement of a jury would negatively affect Turkey’s points.
U.S. Dismisses Case Against Son Of Kyrgyzstan's Former President
by Joldosh Osmonov (05/15/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The decision of U.S. prosecutors to dismiss the case against Maksim Bakiev, the son of Kyrgyzstan’s former president Kurmanbek Bakiev, was a disappointment to the Kyrgyz leadership. While some observers relate the developments to the situation around the U.S. Manas airbase, others claim that U.S. side indeed did not have enough evidence against Bakiev’s son.
Georgian Dream Nominates Presidential Candidate
by Eka Janashia (05/15/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On May 11, the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) Coalition, Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, nominated Education Minister Georgy Margvelashvili as GD’s presidential candidate for the October 2013 elections. Although Ivanishvili proclaimed that anyone can defeat the candidate of United National Movement (UNM), the major opposition party, he still preferred to bid for his “friend” and “exemplary” minister. The UNM, in turn, has not yet nominated its candidate and plans to reveal him or her through U.S. style primary elections.
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Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Greater Central Asia as A Component of U.S. Global Strategy, October 2024.
Analysis Laura Linderman, "Rising Stakes in Tbilisi as Elections Approach," Civil Georgia, September 7, 2024.
Analysis Mamuka Tsereteli, "U.S. Black Sea Strategy: The Georgian Connection", CEPA, February 9, 2024.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, ed., Türkiye's Return to Central Asia and the Caucasus, July 2024.
Book Svante E. Cornell, ed., "The Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus" AFPC Press/Armin LEar, 2023.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Stepping up to the “Agency Challenge”: Central Asian Diplomacy in a Time of Troubles, July 2023.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.