Blog

South Caucasus: The Crossroads of Economic Development and Geopolitical Tension in Eurasia

The South Caucasus region is home to several competing cross-continental infrastructure projects. Once completed, these projects will rapidly grow the region’s strategic and economic value. While these developments may significantly shape global trade, the region’s complex geopolitical environment poses a risk to the overall success and regional stability.

To continue reading the in-depth profile on the South Caucasus region’s geopolitical risk and development, and learn how Radiant Solutions is using unique geospatial tools and data to track regional events and trends that have significant economic and geopolitical implications, please subscribe to our exclusive monthly periodical, the Radiant Spotlight here.



Sneak Peek

Part I. Rising Strategic Value of the South Caucasus

A major rail project is the Russian and Indian-led International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). The INSTC railway passes from Russia to Iran through Azerbaijan and intersects with the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway south of the capital, Baku. Azerbaijan's railway system is currently complete and ready for INSTC transit; however, Iran's section between the Azerbaijan border and Tehran is mostly incomplete. Jointly funded by Azerbaijan and Iran, this section is expected to be finalized in several years. Truck transport is currently used for movement along railway gaps of the INSTC route.

Part II. Rivalries and Simmering Disputes Threaten Stability

This section highlights ethnic fault lines that exist in close proximity to the region’s infrastructure projects and other new developments in Azerbaijan and Georgia. Anthromapper, the geospatial ethnic mapping tool from Radiant Solutions, was used to construct the maps shown in this section.

Prev Post Back to Blog Next Post