Energy Resources and Foreign Policy of the small post-soviet states and its reflection on the regional stability of South Caucasus Region
Energy Resources and Foreign Policy of the small post-soviet states and its reflection on the regional stability of South Caucasus Region By: Nika Chitadze. Ph.D. Director of the Center for International Studies. Tbilisi, Georgia Abstract The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the interconnection between energy resources, oil and gas in particular, and national security and foreign policies of the post-soviet small/weak states of South Caucasus. It is proposed that the formation of foreign policies of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are related not only to great powers but also to the internal economic factors such as oil and gas reserves or respective export and/or transit capabilities of energy resources. This research argues that states with rich oil and gas reserves or export/transit possibilities (oil and gas factor) are more likely to get rid of the influence of the neighboring great power - Russia, and, thus, to distance themselves