SECA

 

Southeast European and Caucasian Alliance
Headquarters	Tbilisi, Georgia
Working languages	English language, Armenian language, French language, Georgian language, Greek language, Turkish language, Waynakh language
Membership	TBD member states
Leaders
Establishment
• SECA declared	1999
• Treaty in effect	2001
• Current constitution	20XX
Website www.seca.gov

The Southeast European and Caucasian Alliance (SECA; Turkish:, latn. İttifak-i Cenub-şarkı Avrupa ve Kafkas; French: Alliance d'Europe du Sud-Est et du Caucase) is an economic and political organisation in the Balkans and the Caucasus regions with the goal of promoting economic growth, trade, development, and peace in the regions. It has TBD sovereign member states, with a combined population of approximately ?? million people as of 2023. There are seven official languages in the alliance - English, Armenian, French, Georgian, Greek, Turkish, and Waynakh.

The union was declared in 1999, following a historical summit between the leaders of Anatolia, Armenia, Georgia and Waynakhia; it was founded in 2001, when the SECA Treaty came into effect. The organisation aimed to promote peace within the region, in the aftermath of a series of conflicts which affected the Caucasus, and to promote economic growth and trade between its members. The alliance has also moved to separate itself from foreign spheres of influence, using development funding both from within and outside the alliance to rebuild and diversify its own members' economies, and aiming to protect itself from falling into foreign spheres in the future, particularly to avoid Russian influence, due to historically and contemporary poor relations with Russia among many member states of the alliance; this is reflected in the "closed border" policy between some SECA member states and Russia.

History

SECA was the brainchild of Anatolian President Kutuz and his Waynakhian counterpart TBD. However, Kutuz did not live long enough to turn the idea into a reality, and his successor Izzeddin Alhazır was the one to establish the union. Notably, Izzeddin himself was of Waynakh and Anatolian Greek descent.

In the years following the Great War, growing fears about Russo-Persian domination of the region brought panic to both countries, along with neighbouring Armenia and Georgia. Persia, that was largely untouched during the Great War, found itself quite developed; its villages in Shiraz had now become centres of trade. The city was known as the "Berlin of the Orient".

The initial success of SECA came largely from oil, a rare commodity in Europe. It had been discovered in Persia, while Russia had already been producing oil for a long period. The growing Russo-Persian oil syndicate put pressure on global markets.

Anatolia saw Waynakhia, another oil-producing state, as a key ally. The Caspian Sea also held rich volumes of oil and natural gas. However, Azerbaijan, a historic foe of the Anatolian Republic, had most of its control along with Persia and Russia, giving Waynakhia and, later, its south-eastern neighbour Dagestan a strategic position in the alliance.

In 1999, the SECA Union was declared following a historic summit between the leaders of Anatolia and Waynakhia, along with neighbouring Armenia and Georgia, in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. The four countries had shared a similar recent history due to the conflicts in the Caucasus, economic stagnation, and fears of Russian and Persian interference and aggression in the strategically important region. Two years later, the SECA treaty came into effect, formally establishing the union with Anatolia, Armenia and Georgia becoming members immediately. Waynakhia would become a de facto member from 2001, before formalising the treaty in 2005, following the extension of the Caucasus Railway into its territory and the revitalisation of the oil industry.

During the 2000s, as the alliance grew economically and became militarily and politically distinguished, Bulgaria decided to join SECA in 2003, due to fears of Russian aggression, due to the larger country's rapid growth. Greece also joined SECA in 2004, due to its close ties with Anatolia, as well as geographical disconnection from the European Community following Albania's admission to the SECA Union in the same year. Dagestan, despite political instability due to Azeri interference, focused mainly on the southern Lezgistan region, began to move towards SECA from 2003, joining the Caucasus Railway system in 2007 when it formally joined the union.

International reception

After its foundation and throughout its history, SECA has received praise and criticism from various governments across the world.

Negative review

• Azerbaijan: In a written interview with a journalist, Foreign Minister İsmail Gaydarov was asked whether Azerbaijan would be willing to join SECA; he replied negatively, and went on to describe SECA as the "Sunni, European and Caucasian Alliance" (sic). In response, his Anatolian counterpart gave a single sentence reply: "You were not invited anyway". The comment gained significance in popular culture, as well as seeing use in politics in other countries, despite being contentious.

Structure

List of member states

Flag	State	Accession	Language(s)	Currency	Population (2020)
	Anatolia	1999	Turkish, Greek	Anatolian para
	Albania	2004	Albanian	Albanian lek
	Armenia	1999	Armenian	Armenian dram
	Bulgaria	2003	Bulgarian	Bulgarian lev
	Dagestan	2007	Dagestani languages	Dagestani tumen
	Georgia	1999	Georgian	Georgian lari
	Greece	2004	Greek	Greek drachma
	Romania		Romanian	Romanian leu
	Waynakhia	2005	Waynakh	Waynakh naxar

Proposed enlargements

Circassia

Circassia, a republic of Russia, has served as a key point of contention between Russia and SECA throughout the alliance's history.

• Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Caucasus-wide conflict gave rise to a significant Circassian nationalist movement, calling for the republic's independence from Russia and establishment as a sovereign nation. Anatolia, Waynakhia and Georgia were vocally in favour of this, supporting the establishment of an independent Circassian state in the region.
• Following the establishment of SECA, an informal provision for the future membership of an independent Circassian state was discussed heavily.
• The SECA Union continues to support Circassian independence; the declaration of independence by Awaristan was heavily contentious, but led to SECA's renewed calls for Circassian independence from Russia. The topic grew in significance in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the union and many of its member states publicly calling for a sovereign Circassian state and even its admission to the union.

North Ossetia

North Ossetia, also a republic of Russia, has been a source of debate for SECA.

• South Ossetia continues to exist as a part of Georgia, with the Ossetian people divided between Russia and Georgia. While Georgia had previously attempted to abolish the region, a change of position following the establishment of SECA led to a shift in public opinions, with a growing amount of people supporting North Ossetian unification with Georgia as an autonomous republic.
• North Ossetia would be geographically isolated from Russia in case of Circassian (and Karachay-Balkar) independence, and possibly surrounded by SECA members if Circassia was to join, providing a strong geographical case for its membership.

See also

• Conference of American States
• European Community