Iran and Türkiye in the South Caucasus: A Year of Change

A year ago, the Program on Georgian Studies hosted a seminar discussing the respectives roles of Tehran and Ankara in the South Caucasus. The year since this seminar has seen much change in both the region’s domestic and foreign landscapes, though. Georgia and Iran both held elections which have had wide ranging impacts on each country’s political life at home and abroad. Armenia has seemingly made the decision to leave the CSTO and signed an agreement removing Russian border guards from the country, growing closer with Europe. Azerbaijan hosted both COP29 and Vladimir Putin, continuing to show its importance to many different actors. And Turkey’s “victory” in Syria and landmark deal with the PKK have delivered Ankara a series of geopolitical victories. All of this, combined with the highly impactful reelection of Donald Trump in the United States, has great potential to produce even more regional change. To discuss these changes, the Program on Georgian Studies is bringing together experts on Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, and Turkey. This panel will expand on last year’s seminar both geographically and substantively, focusing on both long-standing processes and disruptive events that impact the South Caucasus.