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A cynical fight between two authoritarian countries

•2 min read

Over the past few weeks, the South Caucasus once again came into the global spotlight, but this time for a rather unexpected reason, even for those who have long been watching the region. Relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, two authoritarian, highly-militarised countries, appeared to come close to the breaking point. Once weary allies, the cause for the seemingly sudden deterioration can be primarily connected to two separate violent incidents that have occured over the past year — the de

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How the media (cannot) cover trials in Georgia

by Mariam Nikuradze

•3 min read

It’s been a week since yet another restriction for Georgian media came into force: photos, videos, and audio recordings are no longer allowed inside courtrooms, the court building, or even the courtyard. The new regulation does say that the High Council of Justice is entitled to grant permission after individual appeals from reporters, but so far, all appeals have been left unanswered — therefore, it’s been a week without any quality content from the important trials of detained protesters. Ac

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On Azerbaijan devouring its son

by Dominik K Cagara

•2 min read

A lot of bottled up emotions broke loose together with the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in the pandemic year of 2020. While not necessarily surprising, it still hit hard — to watch faces familiar from peacebuilding conferences and peace journalism circles succumb to bloodlust, cheering on advancing troops as any prospect for a peaceful resolution to the decadeslong dispute was rendered forlorn. When I studied peace and conflict studies, I remember my lecturer stressing that even in the bleakest

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The Israel–Iran conflict adds a new layer of complexity on an already tense Caucasus

by Nate Ostiller

•3 min read

We may look back in the future at this time in June 2025 and say that a global conflict, perhaps something like World War III, had already begun. It certainly feels like that these days. Over the past week, a new war — between Israel and Iran — has erupted just neighbouring our region. And while as of now, it has yet to directly involve the Caucasus, the impacts have already been felt. In addition to my day job as an editor, I also write analytical articles, and I’ve been working for a while o

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Georgian Dream’s AI-fuelled surveillance is sowing terror among protesters

by Mikheil Gvadzabia

•3 min read

A sense of privacy in Georgia is quite an abstract concept — especially for socially and politically active people. Concerns that ‘they are listening to us’ along with remarks like ‘I’d rather not say this over the phone’ date back to my own childhood, and even earlier. Even by the time I turned 27, they had not truly gone away. It is not just baseless drama: the fact that the state listens in — at least on certain segments of society — has been confirmed, including in a scandal a few years ago

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What it means to remember a genocide

by Yousef Bardouka

•3 min read

Last Wednesday, I quietly commemorated the 161st anniversary of the Circassian Genocide in Tbilisi, much like I did in the past few years. But as I sat in the OC Media office, editing the news of the day, I could not help but let my mind wander, allowing myself to curiously scan the Telegram channels and Instagram accounts covering Circassian affairs in the North Caucasus just to see what was going down in Nalchik, Maykop, and Cherkessk. I knew the people there would commemorate the genocide a

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Georgian Dream hides its anti-Western course behind EU flags

by Mariam Nikuradze

•4 min read

As Georgia’s Independence Day approaches, construction has begun in Tbilisi to prepare for the celebration. Commemorated on 26 May, the day usually consists of conscripts swearing the traditional oaths in a ceremony on Freedom Square — attended by government officials and their invited guests — as well as various concerts and events across the city and similarly across the country. In addition, the Georgian Parliament building is adorned with banners, decorations which usually include the EU f