The 6th Annual CRRC Conference
Coming together and growing apart: A decade of transformation in the South Caucasus
Date: June 26-27
Agenda and Abstract Book (Download)
Concept note:
The last decade has seen broad political, economic and social changes across the South Caucasus. In the last ten years, events including Armenia’s 2018 ‘Velvet Revolution’, the 2016 ‘Four-Day War’ in Nagorno-Karabakh, the region’s first ballot box-driven change in government in the 2012 Georgian parliamentary elections, the devaluation of the national currency in Azerbaijan, and volatility in relations between the European Union and Russia have reshaped the region. Such events have raised questions as to whether the three nations of the South Caucasus are growing increasingly apart, and if so, whether these changes reflect genuine divergence among societies or if they are simply an outcome of the interests of national elites?
The two-day virtual conference that will be held on June 26-27, 2020, seeks to answer these questions. Five thematic panels and two roundtable sessions will unpack questions posed in this year’s conference theme. The Sixth CRRC Methods Conference will feature two keynote speeches, from Professor John O’Loughlin (University of Colorado Boulder) and Professor Julie A. George (The Graduate Center, City University of New York). Furthermore, CRRC offices will celebrate the release of another wave of the Caucasus Barometer survey.
The CRRC offices are committed to promoting innovative research methods and creating a platform for social science professionals to exchange ideas. The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered how research organizations conduct fieldwork operations. Therefore, this year’s methodological roundtables will discuss the challenges and potential solutions to problems researchers face in the South Caucasus and broader Eurasian region.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all scheduled events will take place virtually. Panel presentations, roundtables, and keynote speeches will be broadcasted via CRRCs’ Facebook and Youtube pages. Audience members will be able to pose questions to presenters via feedback forms. Those who wish to participate in discussions must RSVP via this form. Detailed information about the conference program and an abstract book are included in the attached document.
About CRRC
The Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) is a network of research and research support centers in the capital cities of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Established in 2003, CRRC’s goal is to strengthen social science research and public policy analysis in the South Caucasus. Over the past seventeen years, CRRC offices have become a nexus of activity for the social science community in the South Caucasus by providing open access to data, scholarly literature, and professional training for social science researchers. For more information about CRRC and the upcoming conference, please visit the respective country websites at crrc.am crrc.az and crrc.ge.
About Caucasus Barometer
The Caucasus Barometer is a bi-annual nationwide household survey conducted by CRRC offices in the South Caucasus. Since 2004, CRRC has interviewed around 45,000 residents of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia on socio-economic issues, values, beliefs, and political attitudes. Since 2015, Caucasus Barometer has been administered in Armenia and Georgia only. To find more about the survey and access the dataset, please visit caucasusbarometer.org.