In 2010 the EU initiated negotiations for new agreements forming the legal basis for relations between it and partner countries of the EaP, termed Association Agreements (AA). Negotiations were entered with all three countries in the South Caucasus as well as Ukraine and Moldova, and foresaw greater political association through extensive rule harmonisation. Yet, when negotiations came to an end at the Eastern Partnership summit in November 2013, Azerbaijan had dropped out, Ukraine made a last minute U-turn, and Armenia instead opted for Russian President Putin’s brand new Eurasian Customs Union (ECU). At the time, the change of events was to a large extent ascribed to Russian coercion. Based on empirical material from over 200 news articles, I perform a descriptive data analysis and process tracing, to elucidate what instruments were used and why. I argue that there is a strong relation between the prior relations of dependence between the target and Russia, lending coercive potential to varying degrees. The individual relations of dependence not only explain the choice of instrument but also its relative success.

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This assessment of European Union foreign policy towards the South Caucasus shows that while the EU has developed a coherent transport policy since 1992, paradoxically, it has had no corresponding coherent conflict resolution policy for this region. The fact that the EU deepened transport cooperation without a mediation policy in an area with a multiplicity of protracted conflicts is a puzzle. Although the EU eventually added mediation to its policy during the Russia-Georgia armed conflict in 2008, it was unable to facilitate a political solution. The research examines what has been the nature of EU foreign policy towards the South Caucasus. The dissertation argues that incoherence in conflict resolution policy has been consequent upon two causal factors: (i) preferences of the EU member states conditioned by their historical experience with Russia, and (ii) institutional framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). By contrast, with functional approach, the three dominant factors that have enabled coherence in transport cooperation are (i) legislative alignment, (ii) common transport area, including technical assistance for transit development, and (iii) restrictive measures. Examination of these two areas of EU foreign policy, shows a discrepancy, demonstrating its inconsistent nature. The theoretical framework of realism and liberal intergovernmentalism, is applied to empirically grounded EU foreign policy analysis. Adopting a case study methodology, this work examines the EU's policy towards Armenia and Azerbaijan, with special focus on Georgia between 1992 and 2014. The research combines social science methods of literature review, document analysis and expert interviews.

L’écroulement de l’URSS à la fin du XX siècle a donné naissance à quinze nouveaux États indépendants sur un large territoire eurasien. Tel est le cas de l’Azerbaïdjan, l’un des pays du Caucase du sud, qui a regagné son indépendance après l’effondrement du système socialiste en 1991. Grâce à sa situation géographique et à ses richesses énergétiques (pétrole et gaz), l’Azerbaïdjan occupe une place stratégique et fait l’objet d’un « jeu » géopolitique, aussi bien à l’échelle régionale que mondiale entre de grandes puissances telles que les États-Unis, l’Union Européenne, la Russie, la Turquie et quelques autres. En retour, il essaie de jouer son atout, en appliquant une politique étrangère multivectorielle. Parmi eux, la Turquie occupe une place privilégiée dans la politique étrangère de l’Azerbaïdjan, grâce à son histoire, sa langue, sa religion et leurs traditions communes. Cette thèse s’est fixée pour objectif d’analyser les relations qui se sont établies entre l’Azerbaïdjan et la Turquie, en se basant sur trois axes qui constituent les pivots principaux des relations bilatérales entre les deux États: politique, économique (commercial) et sécuritaire (stratégique). / The collapse of the USSR at the end of the twentieth century has been followed by the creation of fifteen new independent States in the large Eurasian territory. Such is the case of Azerbaijan, which has declared its independence in 1991. Thanks to its geographical position and energy resources (oil and gas) Azerbaijan occupies a geopolitically strategic position and is subject to a geopolitical « game », which implies both regional (Turkey) and great world powers (such as the US, EU and Russia). Consequently, Azerbaijan has adopted a multi-vector foreign policy with its neighbors. Among its neighbors, Turkey, sharing a common history, language, religion and traditions has an important place in the foreign policy of Azerbaijan. In terms of the geopolitical « game », this thesis analyses the relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey. It is based on three axes, as these are the main pillars of bilateral relations between both states. These are political, institutional (commercial) and strategic (security).

Par l’élaboration du Partenariat oriental en 2009, l’Union européenne (Union) cherche à renforcer ses relations avec les pays du Caucase du Sud. Son objectif est de créer un cadre juridique nouveau afin de susciter un saut qualitatif d’une partie de la politique européenne de voisinage (PEV), lancée en 2003 en direction des pays voisins. Il s’agit d’aboutir à un niveau de relations à mi-chemin entre l’association et l’adhésion à l’Union. Il est notamment prévu une multitude d’instruments normatifs et opérationnels, des institutions propres qui s’ajoutent à celles de l’Union et l’efficacité repose sur des principes juridiques fondamentaux que sont : la conditionnalité, la différenciation, l’appropriation commune et la responsabilité mutuelle. Cette thèse a pour finalité d’étudier de quelle manière, à travers le Partenariat oriental, l’Union améliore son influence normative auprès des pays du Caucase du Sud et de voir comment s’opère l’incorporation de l’acquis communautaire de l’Union dans le droit respectif de ces pays. / By elaborating the « Eastern Partnership » in 2009 in Prague, the European Union (EU) seeks to strengthen its relations with the countries of the South Caucasus. Its objective is to create a new legal framework to stimulate a qualitative leap of part of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), launched in 2003 to neighboring countries. This is to achieve a level halfway relations between the association and the membership of the Union. This shall include a multitude of normative and operational instruments, institutions own in addition to those of the Union and effectiveness is based on fundamental legal principles are: conditionality, differentiation and joint ownership mutual accountability. This thesis aims to explore how, through the Eastern Partnership, the EU improves its normative influence with the South Caucasus countries and see how operates the incorporation of the acquis communautaire of the Union in the respective right of these countries.

The aim of my own research is to bind together the limited research done regarding the topic,and to use the research of Russian in the Baltic post-soviet state of Lithuania as a backdrop and comparison. The analysis is postcolonial and comparative, using the concepts of linkage and leverage of Levitsky and Way. A guiding term in this work has been the concept of politicisation, which ultimately means the act of adding a political character to an otherwise unpolitical thing or issue. The time-period that is relevant for this paper is the 1950s to the 2010s. But earlier as well as later information will be included when necessary. In my research I came to find that Russian rather than disappear or entirely overtake South Caucasian society, instead devolved into a secondary language with limited importance. As ethnic and national conflicts made Russian controversial, the countries within the region would come to reimagine the importance of the language. This development would lookdifferent in the nations, entirely depending on their linkage and leverage to Russian or western society. The paper will target two major areas of society, these being the political andlegislative sphere, as well as education. In my conclusion I saw major differences between the more pro-Russian and Russian-speaking Armenia, and the more pro-Western and multilingual Georgia. Whilst Azerbaijan would represent a Russian-speaking, but rather neutral, grey area in the middle.

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Cette thèse consacrée aux études approfondies de la politique de l’Union européenne envers la République d’Azerbaïdjan (1991-2014). Son objectif est d’analyser l’évolution de la coopération entre l’UE et l’Azerbaïdjan, de mettre en évidence des facteurs internes ainsi qu’externes qui influencent la dynamique des relations bilatérales. Une attention particulière est accordée à l’étude des programmes de coopérations tels que la « Politique Européenne de Voisinage » et le « Partenariat Oriental », à la base des documents juridiques qui constituent la réglementation de leurs relations. / The PhD thesis considers the European Union’s policy towards the Republic of Azerbaijan (1991-2014). It studies the evolution of the EU - Azerbaijan relationship and the main factors that influence on its dynamics. Special attention is given to the main programs of the cooperation - the «European Neighborhood Policy» and the «Eastern Partnership». The main documents regulating the relations are reviewed.