Many things have changed since the first Karabakh war (1988–1994), when Armenia emerged victorious. However, the years leading up to the Second Karabakh war in 2020 show that, in the long term, Yerevan lost out on many opportunities owing to the events that unfolded during the first war.

In this post-war period, and in the wake of its gains in the Second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan is in the process of pursuing ambitious infrastructure and connectivity projects spanning the transport, energy, and digital spheres.

For the last three decades normalising diplomatic relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey was impossible when Armenia occupied twenty prevent of Azerbaijani territory in 1994-2000.

The Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan has sparked concern in Central Asia and Russia that this development will generate refugee flows into both regions and that among those migrants will be members of radical Islamist groups who might mobilize extremist forces within the five countries of Central Asia and the republics of Russia’s North Caucasus, threatening the existing governments.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was established as a multilateral association to ensure security across the vast Eurasian region and promote good-neighborly and friendly relations among member states, encouraging their further effective cooperation in various fields.

The South Caucasus—home to Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia—is a geographic region that oftentimes is believed not to have developed regionalism. The reason for such an argument is the lack of political stability caused by security and territorial is- sues. With the ceasefire truce brokered by Russia and the declaration of Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Karabakh war, new regional perspectives are in sight for the region.