The EU lacks leadership and strategic planning in the South Caucasus, while the United States is leading the charge. To secure its geopolitical interests, Brussels must invest in new connectivity for the region. To promote the planned new Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) across the South Caucasus, …

The U.S.-sponsored TRIPP deal is driving the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process forward. But foreign and domestic hurdles remain before connectivity and economic interdependence can open up the South Caucasus. For more than three decades, the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has exerted human, economic, and political tolls on both countries. In 2026, thanks to …

Defenders of democracy often split over perceptions, methods, urgency levels, and priorities. Democratic backsliding, the gradual and piecemeal erosion of democracy under elected governments, is the primary challenge to the quality and even the survival of liberal democracy in the twenty-first century. Our research shows that of the twenty-five countries …