Özet:

This article systematically reviews the security dimension of American foreign policy towards the South Caucasus during The Obama and Trump administrations. The research begins with a discussion of the key drivers of this policy, arguing that U.S. policy has been inconsistent during their presidency, reflecting ideological considerations, economic interests, and idiosyncratic leadership preferences. In addition, this amalgam shows the weakness of the strategic drivers, particularly Russia’s inability to act according to its hegemonic aspirations in the region. The United States, which has been advancing military cooperation with Georgia since 2016, followed a similar path during Trump’s presidency, and unlike the Obama era, rivalry with Russia in the South Caucasus became more aggressive. At the same time, Washington refused solely to prevent the domination of the Russian Federation as well as a new war, and in the background of the Second Karabakh War, the West and Russia focused on resolving conflicts in the region. As Russia’s power as well as its efforts to rebuild an influence in the South Caucasus increase, one can expect the strategic framework of U.S. policy to be strengthened accordingly. The region’s proximity to Iran and Turkey also plays a vital role in the security interests of the United States. In this thread, the main goals of this study are to interpret the geopolitical interests and geo-economic opportunities of the Obama and Trump administrations on the security route to the South Caucasus, as well as to examine the American foreign policy towards regional conflicts in the context of bilateral relations with the South Caucasus countries, especially Azerbaijan, and finally, to assess the effects of the Second Karabakh War on the US position in the region.

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