Thomas de Waal
Thomas de Waal is a senior associate in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He has worked as an analyst on conflicts in the South Caucasus for the London-based NGOs Conciliation Resources and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Prior to this, Thomas de Waal was a prominent journalist in the Caucasus, Russia, and Black Sea region, having reported for the BBC World Service in London, The Moscow Times, The Times of London, and The Economist. He has written several authoritative books on the Caucasus, including Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War (2003) and Chechnya: Calamity in the Caucasus (co-author, 1997), which won the James Cameron Prize for Distinguished Reporting. In his latest book, The Caucasus: An Introduction (2010), Thomas de Waal argues that the Caucasus is not a sub-plot in the history of Russia but a complex region that deserves greater attention, understanding, and appreciation.
Fletcher Forum articles by Thomas de Waal:
January 20, 2011
by Thomas de Waal
As tensions continue to erupt from Georgia to Chechnya, the Caucasus is a global hot spot that demands closer scrutiny. Caucasus scholar Thomas de Waal explores structural insecurity in the region and discusses “three mirages” that feed misinformed foreign intervention and perpetuate conflict. De Waal argues that viewing the Caucasus as a geopolitical chessboard is a mistake; he highlights instead the critical subtleties of the region’s tortured geography and the double-edged sword of its history.
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