Post-Soviet Wars

Christoph Zürcher is Professor of Political Science at the Free University of Berlin. He is the editor of Potentials of Dis/Order: Explaining Violence in the Caucasus and in the Former Yugoslovia.

"Democracy is commonly paired with order while ethnic violence is paired with strife and chaos. The Post-Soviet Wars painstakingly documents that both violence and stability have institutional reasons and must be organized politically by specific human agencies. This lesson is obviously relevant to the contemporary discussion of democratization as well as & failing states, let alone the effects wrought by the American war on terror." - Georgi Derlugyan,author of Bourdieu's Secret Admirer in the Caucasus: A World-System Biography "With his exciting narratives and compelling analysis of the twentieth century's & Caucasian Wars, Zürcher brings events on the periphery of Europe into the mainstream of social science and comparative politics. Disputing existing explanations of internal wars, he shows that rather than mountainous terrain or poverty, a more powerful causal explanation of civil bloodletting can be located in state capacities and the abilities of combatants to finance their struggles. This book is sure to stir debate." - Ronald Grigor Suny,University of Michigan "These well-written chapters provide plenty of detail and analysis, displaying the authors deep understanding of the realities of these extremely chaotic and uncertain times in the Caucasus. The Post-Soviet Wars is an interesting read and remains relevant for understanding the contemporary dynamic in the Caucasus." (The Russia and Eurasia Review) "This books develops into a first-class, original study of the Russian Caucasus during its first years of detachment from the Soviet Union" (Choice) "This is an uncommonly well-argued and well-written explanation of the violent conflicts that erupted across the Caucasus during and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. With exceptional clarity of thought, Zürcher melds established statistical studies of internal wars with a carefully constructed comparison of the origins and courses of the Chechen, Georgian, and Nagorno-Karabakh wars." (Foreign Affairs) "Logically structured and nicely designed, rich in sharp arguments and astute observations" (Journal of Peace Research)

• Preface1 Introduction: War and Peace in the Caucasus 2 Setting the Stage: The Past, the Nation, and the State 3 Making Sense: Con?ict Theory and the Caucasus 4 Wars over Chechnya 5 Wars in Georgia 6 The War over Karabakh 7 Wars That Did Not Happen: Dagestan and Ajaria 8 Conclusion: Post-Soviet Wars and Theories of Internal Wars NotesBibliography IndexAbout the Author