Poverty and lack of access to basic public services, especially in the rural areas, are the Achilles’ heel of all three South Caucasus countries. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia have all experienced various public protests against economic hardship fuelled by the substantial devaluation of the countries’ currencies in 2015 and 2016. People in Azerbaijan and Armenia but also in Georgia have insufficient access to government structures. They see no avenue for making their needs heard and change policy other than by public protests. Domestic governments and external actors should increasingly undertake efforts to improve the interaction between people and governments, especially by strengthening local governance bodies.