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The unresolved dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh is one of the most worrying unresolved conflicts in the Caucasus region, both because it involves two sovereign states and because the three principal regional powers—Russia, Turkey and Iran—all have a differing stance towards the issue. The ongoing conflict undermines security across the Caucasus and wider Black Sea region: it has polarized countries and their allies, and has also created a security vacuum that encourages the proliferation of trans-national security challenges. This paper assesses the impact of the conflict on security across the Caucasus region. It examines the current defense postures of Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as the influence that the ongoing conflict has on their relations with other states throughout the region, demonstrating that the lack of a resolution not only undermines the security of those directly involved and of their neighbors, but also undermines the potential for regional co-operation, as well as economic development and stability, deterring vital investment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the establishment of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) in 1890, the practice of honoring the revolutionary acts of its fedayis has been an important means through which to both recruit the next generation of members and to maintain its claim to be the defender of the Armenian nation. It is, therefore, surprising that the decision to form Armenian volunteer units to fight alongside the Russian army between the fall of 1914 and the spring of 1916, is barely mentioned in ARF publications, and given relatively little attention in the historiography of the period. Given the ARF's tendency to glorify the acts of its fedayis it is puzzling why the organization would not promote and honor its members who took up arms in a more conventional manner against the Ottoman Empire. Three possible reasons can be gleaned from the literature. The first two involve the problems the Legions pose to the historiography on World War I in eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus. The third reason involves the legacy of the ARF and the decision of the Armenian Volunteer Legions to retreat from Van and not relieve the Armenians trapped in Muş in the summer of 1915. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]