Is South Caucasus 'Region’ an Artificial Construct?

Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are commonly grouped together under a common label -- the "South Caucasus." But evidence of such unity is hard to find on the streets of the nations’ capitals.

In Tbilisi, one man, asked whether he considered Georgia part of a regional bloc, said simply, "No, I don’t. Georgia is Georgia." Asked if Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan had anything in common, he said, "Absolutely nothing." In Baku, the sentiment is similar, with a local resident saying: "I don’t want Azerbaijan to be in only the South Caucasus -- it should also be in stronger blocs."

And in the Armenian capital, one woman spoke nostalgically of a time when the three countries had a greater sense of unity. "We used to have many things in common," she said. "We were similar in our temperament, lifestyle, and human relationships; similar in almost everything. I never felt like an outsider in either Baku or Tbilisi." And now? "I think that all these things have changed a lot, and they’ve gotten worse -- in religious matters, and in other ways as well." [More]