American Councils and CRRC are proud to present the 6th talk in the Fall 2013 Works-in-Progress Series:Levan Kakhishvili"Explaining the Absence of Russian-Georgian Cooperation over North Caucasus Security Threats: Three Hypotheses"
Wednesday, 9 October, 2013 at 6:15pmISET/CRRC Georgia, Zandukeli St. 16, Tbilisi, GEORGIAThe North Caucasus has been point of contention in Georgian-Russian relations ever since the demise of the Soviet Union. This sub-region has been a source of security threats for the two countries, including trans-border instability rooted in separatism and insurgency that has resulted in violence. Although the North Caucasus is of great shared interest for both countries, they have little experience of cooperation in dealing with threats originating in these unstable autonomous republics. The absence of cooperation over common security threats can be explained through a combination of three theoretical approaches in international relations: neo-realism, regional security complex theory, and a constructivist understanding of sovereignty.Levan Kakhishvili graduated from St Antony's College of the University of Oxford with an MSc in Russian and East European Studies. Previously, he received an MSc in the Transformation in the South Caucasus Program and a BSc in International Relations from Tbilisi State University. His research interests include the foreign policy of Russia and the Caucasian countries, peace and conflict studies in Eurasia, as well as democratization in the former Soviet Union.********W-i-P is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place at the International School of Economics (ISET) building (16 Zandukeli Street). It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.The purpose of the W-i-P series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.Would you like to present at one of the W-i-P sessions? Send an e-mail to natia@crrccenters.org.