The Middle Corridor and the China Factor: How to Avoid Replacing One Dependency with Another
Azerbaijan must ensure that the Middle Corridor does not trade dependence on Russia or Iran for excessive reliance on China. This analysis examines Chinese infrastructure financing, Anaklia and Alat, Western investment, digital and operational risks, and the need for diversified partners, state control, competitive tenders, and strategic autonomy for Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan’s Peacekeeping Role in a Changing Security Order
Azerbaijan’s peacekeeping policy reflects continuity rather than realignment. Drawing on experience in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and UN missions, Baku is assessing future roles through a pragmatic lens: national interest, operational safety, strategic autonomy and cooperation with international institutions without compromising sovereign decision-making or regional balance in a shifting security order.
Facts and Figures
The Middle Corridor and Europe’s Paradox: How Political Pressure Undermines the EU’s Strategic Interests
Europe’s growing reliance on the Middle Corridor exposes a strategic contradiction: while Brussels seeks stronger transport links through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, European institutions continue issuing politically charged resolutions against key transit partners, risking trust, investment access and influence over the emerging Eurasian logistics architecture at a decisive geopolitical moment.
Why Bern Is Reproducing Moscow’s Narratives on Karabakh
Swiss initiatives around Karabakh, presented in humanitarian terms, risk preserving the conflict’s outdated logic. By focusing selectively on Armenian return, using separatist terminology and proposing special mechanisms, Bern risks echoing Moscow’s preference for an unfinished dispute, while undermining Azerbaijan-Armenia peace efforts, sovereignty and territorial integrity in the South Caucasus.
Experts
