Last updated: May 29, 2026
The South Caucasus sits at the crossroads of Russia, Turkey, Iran, and the broader Middle East — a small region whose internal conflicts have consistently attracted the attention of great powers. The three states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia each navigate overlapping and often contradictory security relationships with Moscow, Washington, and Brussels, while managing unresolved territorial disputes and competing integration ambitions.
The 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war and Azerbaijan’s September 2023 offensive — which resulted in the ethnic cleansing of the entire Armenian population of Artsakh from Nagorno Karabakh — reshaped the regional order, accelerating Armenia’s pivot away from Russian security structures, deepening Azerbaijan’s strategic confidence, and leaving Georgia’s own geopolitical direction in flux following disputed elections and mass protests. The region has become a live testing ground for the limits of Russian influence, the reach of Western soft power, and the emerging role of powers like Turkey, Iran, India , and China.
Groong covers the South Caucasus comprehensively — not just Armenia’s domestic politics and security situation, but the regional dynamics that define the constraints and opportunities facing every state in the area. Episodes in this category examine bilateral relationships, multilateral formats, infrastructure corridors, and the geopolitical competition that makes the South Caucasus one of the most consequential small regions in Eurasian politics.
Below are all Groong episodes tagged with South Caucasus.
Episode 533 | Recorded: April 21, 2026
Prof. Warwick Powell discusses his thermoeconomic view of world politics, where energy, money, and information form a single system. We connect the war on Iran to declining U.S. energy efficiency, the limits of airpower, de-dollarization, and the rise of alternative financial and information architectures. We also bring the conversation back to Armenia, asking what TRIPP, SMRs, and large AI data centers could mean for a small state trying to protect its energy and information sovereignty. We close by reflecting on considerations for Armenia in implementing centralized data infrastructure, more Read More
Episode 532 | Recorded: April 20, 2026
#Armenia #Iran #IranWar #Hormuz #ArmeniaElections #SouthCaucasus
Episode 532 | Recorded: April 20, 2026
#Armenia #Iran #IranWar #Hormuz #ArmeniaElections #SouthCaucasus
In this Week in Review episode, Ambassador Dziunik Aghajanian discusses the stalled Iran negotiations after the Islamabad talks, the renewed pressure around Hormuz and the naval blockade, Turkey’s posture toward Israel and the region; Armenia’s lower-profile participation in the Antalya Diplomatic Forum; Russia’s shifting rhetoric on TRIPP and the South Caucasus; and the June 7 parliamentary election in Armenia, including constitutional changes, border concessions, the gas pipeline rerouting issue, and the use of surveillance and arrests against opposition figures.
Episode 531 | Recorded: April 14, 2026
#Armenia #IranWar #ArmenianPolitics #HungaryElections #ArmeniaPolls
Episode 531 | Recorded: April 14, 2026
#Armenia #IranWar #ArmenianPolitics #HungaryElections #ArmeniaPolls
This Week in Review examines how foreign shocks and internal political pressures are converging for Armenia. We look at the breakdown of US-Iran talks and the threat of a new naval blockade, Viktor Orban’s defeat in Hungary and what it may mean for the region, and fresh polling in Armenia on security, war, free speech, voter participation, and party support ahead of the 2026 elections. The episode also explores whether the Abkhaz railway could offer Armenia a real alternative to routes that deepen dependence on Azerbaijan and Turkey, and what the latest polling says about the opposition’s position.
Episode 530 | Recorded: April 7, 2026
#Groong #Armenia
Episode 530 | Recorded: April 7, 2026
#Groong #Armenia
In this Week in Review, Hovik and Asbed discussed the escalating US-Israeli war on Iran and the danger of a wider regional catastrophe; we reflected on the tenth anniversary of the April 2016 Four-Day War and what it revealed about Armenia’s military and diplomatic posture; we examined the fallout from Pashinyan’s Moscow visit and the increasingly blunt Russian response, and reviewed the fast-moving Armenian election campaign, including pressure on the opposition, EU involvement, and the emerging strategies of major the various alliances.
Episode 528 | Recorded: March 30, 2026
Episode 528 | Recorded: March 30, 2026
Episode 527 | Recorded: March 23, 2026
#Groong #Armenia
Episode 527 | Recorded: March 23, 2026
#Groong #Armenia
Episode 526 | Recorded: March 21, 2026
#Artsakh #Armenia #YoungMin #NagornoKarabakh #EthnicCleansing
Read MoreEpisode 526 | Recorded: March 21, 2026
#Artsakh #Armenia #YoungMin #NagornoKarabakh #EthnicCleansing
Read MoreEpisode 525 | Recorded: March 20, 2026
#GroongPodcast #EldarMamedov #IranWar #Azerbaijan #SouthCaucasus
Episode 525 | Recorded: March 20, 2026
#GroongPodcast #EldarMamedov #IranWar #Azerbaijan #SouthCaucasus
Episode 524 | Recorded: March 19, 2026
#IranWar #VaruzhanGeghamyan #ZangezurCorridor #Syunik #ArmeniaGeopolitics
Episode 524 | Recorded: March 19, 2026
#IranWar #VaruzhanGeghamyan #ZangezurCorridor #Syunik #ArmeniaGeopolitics
Episode 522 | Recorded: March 16, 2026
Episode 522 | Recorded: March 16, 2026
Episode 521 | Recorded: March 10, 2026
#IranWar #EpicFury #MiddleEastWar #ArmeniaForeignPolicy #Sumgait1988 #IranIsraelConflict
Episode 521 | Recorded: March 10, 2026
#IranWar #EpicFury #MiddleEastWar #ArmeniaForeignPolicy #Sumgait1988 #IranIsraelConflict
Episode 520 | Recorded: March 3, 2026
#IranWar #EpicFury #MiddleEastWar #ArmeniaForeignPolicy #Sumgait1988 #IranIsraelConflict
Episode 520 | Recorded: March 3, 2026
#IranWar #EpicFury #MiddleEastWar #ArmeniaForeignPolicy #Sumgait1988 #IranIsraelConflict
Episode 519 | Recorded: February 25, 2026
#Armenia #Iran #ArmeniaElections #ArmenianChurch #SouthCaucasus
Episode 519 | Recorded: February 25, 2026
#Armenia #Iran #ArmeniaElections #ArmenianChurch #SouthCaucasus
Episode 516 | Recorded: February 9, 2026
Episode 516 | Recorded: February 9, 2026
Episode 515 | Recorded: February 6, 2026
Episode 515 | Recorded: February 6, 2026
Episode 510 | Recorded: Jnauary 27, 2026
Episode 510 | Recorded: Jnauary 27, 2026
Episode 509 | Recorded: January 18, 2026
Episode 509 | Recorded: January 18, 2026
Episode 508 | Recorded: January 19, 2026
#ArmenianNews #Syria #Iran #ZangezurCorridor #TRIPP #Geopolitics
Episode 508 | Recorded: January 19, 2026
#ArmenianNews #Syria #Iran #ZangezurCorridor #TRIPP #Geopolitics
Episode 506 | Recorded on January 14, 2026
Episode 506 | Recorded on January 14, 2026
Episode 505 | Recorded: January 13, 2026
Episode 505 | Recorded: January 13, 2026
Episode 502 | Recorded: January 8, 2026
#FyodorLukyanov #RussiaGeopolitics #UkraineWar #IranIsrael #VenezuelaCrisis #TRIPP
Episode 502 | Recorded: January 8, 2026
#FyodorLukyanov #RussiaGeopolitics #UkraineWar #IranIsrael #VenezuelaCrisis #TRIPP
Fyodor Lukyanov joins Groong to discuss how Moscow reads a fast-shifting global landscape, from the U.S. raid in Venezuela and maritime seizures at sea, to Trump’s Greenland rhetoric, the stalled endgame in Ukraine, the likelihood of a renewed Israel-Iran war, and how TRIPP and “unblocking” disputes in Armenia’s south fit into Russia’s regional priorities.
Episode 500 | Recorded: December 31, 2025
Episode 500 | Recorded: December 31, 2025
Episode 498 | Recorded: December 23, 2025
#ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #TRIPP #ArmeniaPolitics #Groong
Episode 498 | Recorded: December 23, 2025
#ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #TRIPP #ArmeniaPolitics #Groong
Episode 496 | Recorded: December 15, 2025
#ArmeniaPolitics #EUvsRussia #ArmenianChurch #Artsakh #Geopolitics
Episode 496 | Recorded: December 15, 2025
#ArmeniaPolitics #EUvsRussia #ArmenianChurch #Artsakh #Geopolitics
Episode 494 | Recorded: December 8, 2025
#ArmenianChurch #NSS #Pashinyan #ArarPoll #ArmeniaEU
Episode 494 | Recorded: December 8, 2025
#ArmenianChurch #NSS #Pashinyan #ArarPoll #ArmeniaEU
Episode 492 | Recorded: November 29, 2025
#IranCrisis #AzerbaijanPolitics #EuropeanGeopolitics #ArmeniaSecurity #SouthCaucasus #GlobalPowerPolitics
Episode 492 | Recorded: November 29, 2025
#IranCrisis #AzerbaijanPolitics #EuropeanGeopolitics #ArmeniaSecurity #SouthCaucasus #GlobalPowerPolitics
Episode 491 | Recorded: November 29, 2025
#Venezuela #AmericaFirst #USForeignPolicy #TRIPP #UkraineWar
Episode 491 | Recorded: November 29, 2025
#Venezuela #AmericaFirst #USForeignPolicy #TRIPP #UkraineWar
Episode 489 | Recorded: November 23, 2025
Episode 489 | Recorded: November 23, 2025