Regional analyst. PPIA graduate @AUB_lebanon /SLGSS grad @Forsvarshogsk RIA CC @IFI_AUB co @ArmenianWeekly/ Instructor PSC #AUB #MiddleEast #SouthCaucasus
Beirut/Yerevan
Joined March 2011
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Dear friends and colleagues,
I am thrilled to announce that a few days ago, my book chapter “The International North-South Transport Corridor and the Belt and Road Initiative in the South Caucasus” for the edited volume of “Routledge Handbook of China's Belt and Road Initiative in Eurasia” was published, and today I received the hard copy. The highly scholarly handbook brought together 32 scholars and experts and has been edited by Dr. Mher D. Sahakyan and Kevin Lo. The handbook critically analyses and examines the impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) geostrategy in Eurasia.
Over the last decade, the BRI contributed to China becoming an economic and political superpower, but the Russo–Ukrainian War brought seismic geopolitical and geo-economic impacts and a new struggle between great powers. Covering the impact of the BRI and the positions of other great, middle, and small powers, the ten parts explain the geopolitical and geo-economic dynamics along the Silk Road Economic Belt’s six major economic corridors, implementing case studies on Europe, South Caucasus, Central Asia, Russian Far East, Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia.
Last year, alongside dozens of scholars, I had the honor to participate in the 5th Eurasian Research on Modern China and Eurasia Conference in Yerevan organized by Dr. Sahakyan and his team where we presented our papers and offered a platform to establish an academic network, exchange research ideas, compare perspectives and methodologies, and promote interdisciplinary dialogue which led to the publication of this handbook.
My chapter examines how multipolarity triggered by ‘corridorisation’ impacts the behavior of the local actors in the South Caucasus as they strive for positioning in the regional system. Taking into consideration the Russo-Ukrainian and Nagorno-Karabakh wars and the geopolitical and geo-economic shifts in the region, the chapter aims to explain the impact of INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor) and BRI on the South Caucasus and Eurasian interconnectivity in the era of Multipolar World Order 2.0.
#bookchapter #academia #China #BRI #INSTC #Eurasia #SouthCaucasus #economiccorridors #corridorization #geopolitics #geoeconomics #Turkey #Iran #India #Armenia #Georgia #Azerbaijan #Routledge #TaylorandFrancisGroup
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
SCOOP - Qatar would construct two power plants in Lebanon and sign a 20-year liquefied natural gas supply deal under a proposal to revive the ailing Lebanese power sector, a document seen by Reuters showed.
The plan - which still requires approval - includes:
- New combined-cycle plants at Deir Ammar & Zahrani, 825 MW each
- QatarEnergy 20-year LNG supply agreement
- FSRU
- 800 MW solar, 440 MW wind
Lebanon has had many power plans that went nowhere due to political bickering and vested interests of politicians. Will this one be different?
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
👉"Lebanon’s experience shows that a country does not necessarily reach a crisis simply because its debt is high. Rather, the danger becomes much greater when the political system repeatedly fails to act to prevent a crisis from happening or to adopt immediate and forceful economic measures to rectify the situation."
IFI Associate Fellow Saade Chami speaks to "The Ace Dispatch" in their Geometry Room interview series on Lebanon's ongoing crisis, and more broadly on sovereign debt sustainability in the world's largest economies, sovereign capital allocation, how AI could be behind the next global shock, as well as the dominance of the dollar and the future of the financial world order.
🔗Read the full interview here: substack.com/home/post/p-220…
📑 You can access Chami's IFI publications here: ififellows.com/saade-chami.h…
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
🔊Join us for this virtual pre-COP31 panel organized by @ghiaub's Cli-Health Program, moderated by IFI's Assistant Director @mouradyara7, which will tackle the progress, implementation gaps, and priorities for climate and health across Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan.
For more details and to register:👇
Advancing the Climate-Health Agenda in MENA: The Road Toward COP31
Join the Cli-Health Program at AUB’s Global Health Institute for a virtual Pre-COP31 panel exploring progress, implementation gaps, and priorities for climate and health across Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan.
📅 October 27, 2026
🕒 3:00 PM Beirut Time
🔗 Register now: bit.ly/4s21awu
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
👉Lebanon could realistically seek to become a "secondary Mediterranean transshipment and logistics node," rather than a central land bridge within the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
IFI's Regional and International Affairs Cluster Coordinator @yeghig speaks to @The_NewArab on Beirut and Tripoli's recent inclusion in the IMEC Ports Club. Read the full article below:
newarab.com/news/lebanon-por…
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
👉IFI's Regional and International Affairs Cluster Coordinator @yeghig speaks to @TheBeiruter about the economic and geopolitical benefits of Lebanon's integration into the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), after the ports of Beirut and Tripoli officially joined the IMEC Ports Club earlier this month.
Read the full article via the link below:
thebeiruter.com/articledetai…
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
📢 Stay connected with us on WhatsApp!
Get the latest news, events, publications, and announcements directly on your phone! 📲
Follow the institute's WhatsApp Channel to stay informed and never miss an update.
🔗whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbD…
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
Our Institute welcomed Lebanon's @AFD_France Director, Alisée Pornet, earlier today, who met with @jobahout, @mouradyara7, and @SolhLeil to discuss potential collaborations on issues under AFD's new strategy, including the geopolitics of development, economic recovery, livelihoods, and social protection.
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
🇫🇷 Last week, IFI’s Regional and International Affairs Cluster Coordinator @yeghig was in Toulon for the 5th Ed. of the Mediterranean Strategic Meetings, organized by the Fondation pour la Maîtrise des Enjeux Stratégiques - @InstitutFMES, which brought together high-level experts, military leaders, policymakers, and academics to analyze and debate the security, environmental, and technological challenges facing the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, and beyond.
For more information: fmes-france.org/en/a-propos-…
#RSMED2026
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
📢Open Call: Junior Fellows Program
Our Institute and the MA Program in Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) at @AUB_Lebanon , is glad to announce the launch of the 2nd Cohort of its Junior Fellows Program, starting January 2026.
This 9-month fellowship is targeted at 2 distinct profiles, as follows:
1- Current PPIA Students
2- MA Graduates (PPIA and others)
For the detailed call, requirements, and deadlines, visit our website:
🔗aub.edu.lb/ifi/Pages/opportu…
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
Karabakh refugees in Armenia have become the victims of online hate speech and government harassment. foreignpolicy.com/2026/10/02…
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
1/2 Türkiye and Azerbaijan today signed defense industry contracts worth over $500 million. Another proof of Türkiye "Azerbaijan first" policy in the South Caucasus and reminder why Azerbaijan has a veto power on Armenia - Türkiye normalization.
#Swiss voters reject tighter neutrality rules that would have curbed #NATO cooperation reuters.com/world/swiss-vote…
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
From @bahruz_samad:
"During the court session, I inflicted 16 cuts on my arm. This act was not suicide but protest in nature. The main reasons that brought me to this step are the psychological pressure the Azerbaijani authorities have carried out against me, my detention in a strict-regime penal institution, and the deprivations I have faced.
What finally overflowed the cup of my patience was the aggressive, senseless questions asked by the judge. After I cut my arm, I shouted, 'You love blood so much, don't you.'"
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
📝 New from the Arab Think Tank Network (ATTN) Secretariat at our Institute: our contribution to the @onthinktanks State of the Sector 2026 report.
In “For MENA think tanks, funding held but vulnerability remains,” Secretariat Coordinator @BaroudMaysa shares insights on the funding challenges think tanks in the MENA region face, drawing on findings from this year’s report.
Read the full piece here: onthinktanks.org/articles/fo…
📖You can also read the full SOS2026 report, “Strength comes from within: People as pillars of resilience,” here: onthinktanks.org/sos2026/
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
At the Institute today: Director Joseph Bahout (@jobahout) welcomed representatives from both Germany’s Liberal Party and MENA-based representatives of @FNFmena. Bahout offered a brief overview of the current situation in Lebanon, while discussing possible venues of collaboration between IFI and FNF.
The institute also welcomed recently-appointed Officer in Charge of the Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jean Arnault, whose discussion with our director also revolved around the latest developments in Lebanon and the region.
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
🇦🇲For those in #Yerevan, IFI's Regional and International Affairs Cluster Coordinator Yeghia Tashjian (@yeghig) will take part in a roundtable discussion titled “Economic Corridors and the Role of the U.S. in Remaking the Regional Order in the Middle East" later today at the American University of Armenia (@AUAtweets).
The discussion will explore the geopolitical and economic implications of the India-Middle East Economic Corridor (IMEC), the reactions of key regional powers, and the role of economic connectivity in reshaping the Middle East’s regional order amid shifting global dynamics. The event is open to the public.
📅 September 23, 2026 | 2:00 - 3:30 PM (Yerevan time)
📍 American University of Armenia, College of Humanities & Social Sciences, Room 113W, PAB
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
1/ Azerbaijani state officials continue to push forward the narrative of Caucasian Albania, knowing very well that this is an extremely sensitive topic and will triiger reaction among Armenians both in Armenia and Diaspora.
en.apa.az/culture-policy/sab…
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
I believe we all understand that Armenians, both in Armenia and in Diaspora, could not simply forget the 32 years history of Self Declared Nagorno Karabakh Republic and the forced displacement of Armenians from there in late September/early October 2023. People's memory is not a computer file which you can simomy delete by pressing a button. The key difference is, however, what state institutions are doing and propagating.
Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 retweeted
Join us tomorrow as our university fellow and co-leader of @AUB_Lebanon's IFI-based @SWANA_FoWHub @Ali_Abboud87 joins @ArabReform_ARI's webinar, "AI and the Future of Work in the Arab Region: Promised Inclusion and Codified Precarity."
📅September 22, 2026
⏰2:00 PM CET | 3:00 PM (Beirut time)
🔗Register here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi…
AI is changing how we work, but not everyone is benefiting equally.
Tomorrow, join us to explore what's really happening with AI in Arab labor markets. We're asking the tough questions:
Who's actually winning? Employers getting richer? Platforms cutting costs?
Workers left with fewer protections? International institutions calling the shots?
How are gig jobs and informal work reshaping AI's impact?
What happens to your job security and rights?
How AI is changing the boss-worker relationship, and what we can do about it?
Meet the experts breaking down what this means for you and your community.
Sher Verick , Heba Ghannam , Ali Abboud - moderated by ARI's Diala Ahwach
Join the conversation: lnkd.in/dcyMcecf
Dear friends in Yerevan, next Wednesday at 2 pm, I will be delivering a presentation at the American University of Armenia titled "Economic Corridors and the Role of the US in Remaking the Regional Order in the Middle East". I will be reflecting on how key middle powers such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel are positioning themselves toward regional corridors (mainly the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor), reflecting on alternative corridor projects and the emerging fault lines, and examining how economic corridors are attempting to reshape a Multipolar World Order 2.0 in the Middle East amid the U.S.-Iranian confrontation and the U.S. attempt to reshape the regional order.
AUA College of Humanities and Social Sciences
For more info: newsroom.aua.am/event/econom…
