Myths and conflict in the South Caucasus

This research attempts to shed some light on the ways in which myths and dominant narratives associated with the conflicts in the South Caucasus are constructed and transmitted in the region.

A region-wide research project examined three mechanisms through which myths are created and disseminated. This research was part of the “South Caucasus Mediation and Dialogue Initiative”.

Volume 1: Instrumentalisation of Historical Narratives looked at how myths associated with the conflicts are subject to domestic political manipulation, how “enemy images” are created, and how these in turn serve to strengthen the resilience of those conflicts to resolution. In this volume, we present a comparative analysis of history textbooks in use across the region from the late Soviet and post-Soviet periods.

Volume 2: Instrumentalisation of Conflict in Political Discourse presents the research on political discourse, examining how these enemy images are utilised in the domestic politics of the South Caucasus as they enter their third decade of protracted conflict.

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Volume 1 in English

Volume 1 in Russian

Volume 2 in English

Volume 2 in Russian