About CDGR
A Berlin-based center for policy research on the Black Sea, South Caucasus, and Central Asia
Who we are
The Center for Democracy, Geopolitics and Resilience (CDGR) is an independent, non-partisan policy research center registered in Berlin. We work on democracy, democratic resilience, good governance, EU integration, and geoeconomic connectivity in the Black Sea region, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia.
CDGR was founded by practitioners with senior policy, public office, and diplomatic experience in the region. Operating from Berlin, we combine regional expertise with direct access to policy networks in Germany and Brussels.
Mission and approach
We produce evidence-based policy research and make it accessible to policymakers, civil society, and the wider public. Our goal is to contribute to an informed, pluralistic democratic discourse on the political and economic futures of our region.
Five research programmes
Democratic Resilience and Civic Space
Backsliding mechanisms, civic space under legal pressure, and the instruments available to external partners to support democratic resilience.
Geopolitics and Regional Security
Power dynamics in the South Caucasus and Black Sea, post-2022 Russian posture, Turkish regional role, and Armenian-Azerbaijani normalisation.
Geoeconomics and Connectivity
The Middle Corridor, Global Gateway conditionality, Anaklia, TRIPP, and the political economy of infrastructure investment in the region.
Hybrid Threats and Information Integrity
Disinformation, media capture, and Kremlin information operations in Georgian, Armenian, and Azerbaijani information environments.
Reform and Socio-economic Transformation
Public governance, poverty measurement, migration, and the social dimensions of EU accession conditionality.