The South Caucasus

The South Caucasus

Rethinking Development and Democracy

Author(s): Vartan Oskanian
Editor(s): Lili Di Puppo, Iris Kempe, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic
Series: Caucasus Analytical Digest (CAD)
Issue: 6
Pages: 2-4
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Jefferson Institute, Washington D.C.; Heinrich Böll Foundation, Tbilisi; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen
Publication Year: 2009

Just when formerly communist countries had begun to accept that capitalism brings with it inequalities and harsh competition, the financial meltdown that turned into a global economic crisis pushed the developed world itself to question the premises, excesses and dangers of laissez-faire capitalism. The crisis brought on soul-searching everywhere. The key question to consider here in the Caucasus is whether the crisis is, at its core, solely economic or actually political.