This project constitutes the continuation of a first project on the contemporary Caucasus, which led to the organisation of an international symposium ("Post-Soviet Caucasus: Identities and Conflicts") at the ULB in 2007 and to the publication of a collective work (Aude Merlin, Silvia Serrano (eds.), Ordres et désordres au Caucase, Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles, 2010).

At the beginning of the "post Soviet" period, several armed conflicts erupted in the Caucasus. The transition to a "post-post-Soviet" phase – in the words of D. Trenin – arises from the consolidation of national armies, in conjunction with the stabilisation of the newly independent states. Nevertheless, the Russian recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, following the Georgian-Russian conflict in 2008, marks a break, calling into question the territorial status quo resulting from the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. Moreover, the Caucasus remains a region wrought by strong tensions and contradictions, both internationally and domestically. In this context, the attribution to Russia of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games creates an additional challenge: the Games are to be held in Sochi, only a few miles away from the Abkhaz border and from the North Caucasian republics where instability persists.

This project is divided along several axes:

- A first axis tackles directly the preparation of the Olympic Games in Sochi and the issues at stake of this preparation, that have an impact on the domestic political scene and on Russian-Caucasian relations

- A second axis focuses on the political economy of conflicts in the region

- A third axis covers the relationship between conflict and states