International Alert

After decades of conflict, trust does not return quickly - and although political negotiations are crucial, they alone are not enough. Peace agreements only hold if the people they affect are willing to live with them. That’s why civic peacebuilding remains critical in the South Caucasus.

There is now renewed momentum in the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process. But behind the headlines, experts, civil society actors, and policymakers across the region, Europe, and the UK have been sustaining dialogue for years.

➡️ Our programme has supported these efforts by creating regular opportunities for experts to engage on recent developments and connect high-level political shifts with realities in each society.

One such meeting took place in London last week, convening leading regional experts from Armenia and Azerbaijan to assess current opportunities and risks for the peace process - and what comes next.

We organised this event with the Baku Press Club Press Klub and the Yerevan Press Club, which jointly run a media platform PressClubs.TV offering expert analysis on various issues affecting relations between the two countries.

Trust is built through time, consistency, and spaces where people can safely reflect on the past, make sense of the present, and imagine a shared future. This is what allows political progress to be understood, tested, and ultimately supported by those it will affect most.

Our experience working on peace processes proves that agreements are more durable when there’s sustained engagement with and between different society groups, beyond official talks. Without that, even well-designed deals can remain fragile or disconnected from the societies they aim to stabilise.

👇 Discover more about our work on civic peacebuilding in the South Caucasus and access expert analysis on current developments in the region - links in the comments.
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This work is made possible through the financial assistance of the European Union.