Dialogue on security guarantees in the context of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict

Author(s): International Alert
2009-09

This paper presents the separate analyses of both Georgian and Abkhaz civil society experts on the need for security guarantees, the reasons why the sides have been unable to agree on them as well as barriers and opportunities for future agreements.  In itself, the document reflects the achievement of Alert’s long-term engagement as a facilitator of dialogue between Georgian and Abkhaz civil society leaders. It reflects an advance in the dialogue process while contributing to the debate around security guarantees. 

This publication is an attempt to present a new analytical framework for dialogue to stimulate communication and debate across the conflict divide. It should be of equal interest to Georgian and Abkhaz societies, hopefully bringing the perspective of the other side into internal debates, while helping international actors with an interest in peaceful resolution of the conflict to understand Georgian & Abkhaz perspectives better.

This paper is also available in Russian

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Local Business Local Peace- South Caucasus Case Study, Russian

Author(s): International Alert
2007-05

Russian version of the South Caucasus case studies taken from the Local Business local Peace report.
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Best Intentions Cannot Go Far Enough

Author(s): Salil Tripathi
2007-01

Mr. Tripathi points out the interconnectedness of severe human rights abuses in violent conflict with certain corporate practices, drawing on examples from Africa, Asia and Latin America, and shows that voluntary initiatives alone are not enough to ensure that companies, particularly in the extractive sector, act as per the law or best practices. While human rights impact assessments and conflict risk assessments are not sufficient, they are necessary in guiding corporate practices, and he provides examples from Alert's work in Colombia, in implementing Alert's 'Conflict Sensitive Business Practices: Guidance for the Extractive Sector (CSBP)' with respect to two projects in Colombia.
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Central Asia: A Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding - Russian Language Version

Author(s): Anna Matveeva
2006-09

Although Central Asia has remained relatively peaceful in the years since the break-up of the Soviet Union, there is still a considerable potential for conflict in the region. The Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding provides an in-depth analysis of conflict potential in Central Asia, from which it derives a peacebuilding strategy. The report focuses its attention on three states: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The regional context (Afghanistan) and the influence and interest of major powers (USA, Russia, China) in the region are also taken into account, as are common regional factors like strict border regimes cutting through communities, the complex ethnic situation in the Ferghana valley, the drug trade and the threat of Islamism. The headline conclusion is that the central threat to stability lies not, as has long been thought, in ethnic rivalries or competition over resources, but rather in the relationship between the citizens and the state.
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Corruption and Conflict in the South Caucasus - Russian Language Version

Author(s): Natalia Mirimanova; Diana Klein (ed.)
2006-09

This report is the product of field research and subsequent analysis carried out between July 2004 and July 2005 by a team of researchers from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia as well as Nagorny Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia across the South Caucasus, facilitated by International Alert. Based on a series of one-to-one interviews and focus groups with a wide range of stakeholders, it examines the connections between corruption and frozen conflicts in the South Caucasus region, exploring corruption on all sides. It is the first systematic study of corruption from the perspective of conflict analysis and the first to include the unrecognised entities of the region.
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