TRANSPORT CORRIDORS AND GEOECONOMIC COMPETITION IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS

Abstract

This article examines the Zangezur Corridor as a component of
geoeconomic rivalry in Eurasia rather than as an isolated infrastructure project.
It focuses on competition between two connectivity frameworks: the East-West axis (the Middle Corridor involving Türkiye and Azerbaijan) and the North-South
axis (the International North-South Transport Corridor, supported by Russia and
Iran). In this perspective, the South Caucasus is treated as a pivotal space where
transit centrality is being redistributed and control over routes translates into
political and economic leverage.
The study is grounded in a geoeconomic approach and the concept of
weaponized interdependence, which explains how infrastructure networks
generate asymmetric influence and vulnerability. Methodologically, it employs
a qualitative comparative design combining elements of process tracing with an
actor-centered analysis of the strategies of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia.
The comparison is structured around four criteria: route control, sanctions
resilience, capacity to generate transit rents, and exposure to external pressure.
The findings indicate a structural mismatch between the two corridor
models. Potential implementation of the Zangezur route would strengthen the
continuity of the Middle Corridor, reinforce Türkiye’s and Azerbaijan’s positions
as gatekeepers of East-West connectivity, and at the same time reduce the transit
centrality of Iran and, to a certain extent, Russia. In response, Moscow and Tehran
are intensifying coordination within the INSTC as an alternative continental
framework.
The article concludes that the South Caucasus should be understood not as
a periphery but as an active node in the emerging Eurasian logistics architecture.
The Zangezur Corridor is best interpreted as a mechanism of structural power
redistribution, where outcomes depend not only on infrastructure capacity, but also
on institutional arrangements, security regimes, and the political governability of
the project.