The 370-page book was the culmination of a longer term intensive project involving several collaborative meetings and seminars among the authors aimed at formulating a comprehensive strategic vision of the region, with a focus on the political, economic and security dimensions of the South Caucasus.
     In addition, this book represents more than a unique effort at cross-border professional collaboration. More specifically, as a result of the guidance and facilitation of Dr. Canan Atilgan, the Director of the Regional Program South Caucasus for the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), the book assesses “developments, trends and scenarios” covering the political, economic and security fields in each of the region’s three countries. And in a collaborative effort, the authors also sought to “look forward” and analyze major trends and tendencies in the region, while the offering specific scenarios and recommendations. In this context, the title of the book, “The South Caucasus 2018: Facts, Trends, Future Scenarios,” reflects not only the symbolic reference to the year 2018 as the 100th anniversary of the first period of independence and statehood of each of the three countries in the South Caucasus, but was also chosen to provide a five-year framework for analysis. Finally, the book also provides “a set of recommendations in various policy fields for opinion-shapers and decision-makers of the respective countries.”