Category Archives: News

New Publications: December 2015

Book Review

Wheatley, J.. (2015). Review of The Making of Modern Georgia, 1918–2012: The First Georgian Republic and Its Successors. Slavic Review, 74(4), 930–932.

The Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–21) is so far underresearched by Georgian and western scholars alike. Yet the [book] not only offers pointers to subsequent developments in Georgia but also provides an early blueprint for socialist democracy that offered an alternative to Bolshevism 다운로드. This selection of essays on the experience of the DRG and the detailed comparisons they offer between it and today’s Georgia gives some fascinating insights into the role of geostrategic and domestic factors in structuring the state and ensuring (or undermining) its stability. This book is unique insofar as it uncovers groundbreaking material and sheds light on the role of Soviet and post-Soviet narratives in rethinking the past and restructuring ideas on power, politics, and nationhood.

Book Chapters

Kostanyan, H wd my cloud download. (2015). Neither Integrated Nor Comprehensive in Substance: Armenia and Georgia. In The Substance of EU Democracy Promotion (pp. 134-148). Palgrave Macmillan UK.

In view of the 2004 eastward enlargement, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was established and the South Caucasus countries joined in 2004. Since the initial agreements, the EU’s cooperation with Armenia and Georgia has gradually extended. Besides participating in the ENP, they have also been included in the EU’s Black Sea Synergy and the Eastern Partnership 다운로드. The negotiations of the new-generation Association Agreements were concluded with Armenia and Georgia. However, Armenia refused to sign the agreement with the EU and opted for membership of the Customs Union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan instead. The Association Agreements deepen partner countries’ European integration and widen their political relationship with the EU. The Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) that is considered an integral part of the Association Agreement focuses on the economic aspect of the relationship. In addition, the EU concluded visa facilitation/readmission agreements negotiations with Armenia and Georgia and continues visa liberalisation dialogue with Georgia 스쿨메이트 다운로드.

Freire, M. R., Lopes, P. D., & Nascimento, D. (2015). The EU’s Role in Crisis Management: The Case of the EUMM. In Managing Crises, Making Peace (pp. 178-195). Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Since its establishment and throughout the formal and informal dimensions of its integration process, the European Union (EU) has always been confronted with issues of peace and violence, not only internally but also externally. However, the specific context of emergence of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)/European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) was characterised by evolving security threats which included terrorism, failed states and violent intra-state conflicts, calling for a different approach in what concerns the EU’s response capacity to crisis and violence within and outside its borders 다운로드. Besides, the EU has also the difficult task of seeking consensus among its member states with regard to why, where and how to deploy peace missions, responding both to internal political and economic dynamics, as well as to the overall institutional goal of promoting security within and beyond its borders. This chapter analyses, therefore, the deep interconnections between the process of decision-making and the external elements that influence it.

Academic Articles

Salukvadze, J., & Golubchikov, O. (2016). City as a geopolitics: Tbilisi, Georgia—A globalizing metropolis in a turbulent region. Cities, 52, 39-54.

Tbilisi, a city of over a million, is the national capital of Georgia 다운로드. Although little explored in urban studies, the city epitomizes a fascinating assemblage of processes that can illuminate the interplay of geopolitics, political choices, globalization discourses, histories, and urban contestations in shaping urban transformations. Tbilisi’s strategic location in the South Caucasus, at the juncture of major historical empires and religions in Eurasia, has ensured its turbulent history and a polyphony of cultural influences. Following Georgia’s independence in 1991, Tbilisi found itself as the pivot of Georgian nation-building. Transition to a market economy also exposed the city to economic hardship, ethnical homogenization, and the informalization of the urban environment 젠킨스 다운로드. The economic recovery since the early 2000s has activated urban regeneration. Georgia’s government has recently promoted flagship urban development projects in pursuit of making Tbilisi as a modern globalizing metropolis. This has brought contradictions, such as undermining the city’s heritage, contributing to socio-spatial polarization, and deteriorating the city’s public spaces. The elitist processes of decision-making and a lack of a consistent urban policy and planning regimes are argued to be among major impediments for a more sustainable development of this city 다운로드.

O’Loughlin, J., Kolossov, V., & Toal, G. (2015). Inside the post-Soviet de facto states: a comparison of attitudes in Abkhazia, Nagorny Karabakh, South Ossetia, and Transnistria. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 55(5), 1-34.

In the wake of the Ukrainian crisis in 2013–2014, renewed attention has been given to the earlier so-called “frozen conflicts” of the successor states of the Soviet Union 다운로드. In Georgia, Moldova, and Azerbaijan, national conflicts of the early 1990s resulted in establishment of four breakaway regions, the de facto states of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, and Nagorny Karabakh. While the first three are supported by Russia, the latter is supported by Armenia. Such support as well as growing internal legitimacy has enabled these republics to retain separate status for almost 25 years. Though appearing quite similar from an external perspective, the populations of the de facto states are quite diverse in composition, geopolitical preferences, and support for political institutions and persons 다운로드. Large representative public opinion surveys conducted by the authors in 2010–2011 in the four de facto states allow a deeper comprehension of internal political and social dynamics. Three main dimensions of their current status and orientation (relations with Russia, support for local institutions, and possibilities of post-war reconciliation) are examined using nine key comparative questions. Nationality is the main predictor of divergent opinions within the republics, and results are reported along this dimension. Close relations with the external patron, support for the legitimacy and identity of the respective de facto republics, and little interest in returning to the parent state testify to the longevity and successful promotion of state and nation in the de facto republics in the Caucasus-Black Sea Region.

Report

Mshvidobadze, K. (2015). Georgia Cyber Barometer Report. Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies.

Cyber Barometer Report on Georgia is an analysis of cybercrime and cyber threats, responses and related matters in Georgia. The aim of the report is to uncover cyber threats to the country and the strengths and weaknesses that characterize the country’s ability to respond to those threats. In particular, this report covers levels and types of cybercrime on the Internet in Georgia; law enforcement capabilities, activities and assessments; key elements of critical infrastructure relating to the Internet in Georgia and the current level of cyber security protecting such assets; economic and social prospects; a net assessment and a possible roadmap for further action.

New Publications: October-November 2015

Academic Articles

Ó Beacháin, D. (2015). Elections without recognition: presidential and parliamentary contests in Abkhazia and Nagorny Karabakh. Caucasus Survey, 1-19.

While various debates have arisen on the relationship between non-recognition and democratization, empirical case studies on elections in de facto states are extremely rare 다운로드. This article examines recent presidential and parliamentary elections in two unrecognized or partially recognized de facto states in the South Caucasus, namely Abkhazia and Nagorny Karabakh. Accordingly, the emphasis is on the Abkhazian presidential elections of August 2011 and August 2014 and parliamentary elections of 2007 and 2012, along with the most recent executive and legislative elections in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) in July 2012 and May 2015 respectively 다운로드. On the basis of extensive interviews and participant observation, this article demonstrates how although both parliamentary and presidential elections in Abkhazia are competitive, they favour the titular nation, while in homogeneous Nagorny Karabakh fear of a renewed conflagration has until recently produced relatively uncompetitive presidential contests. The dynamics of majoritarian versus party list, party, ethnic and gender representation are examined in each case. The case studies reveal weak political parties, but the NKR has made incremental changes to the electoral law that might encourage a less personality-based parliamentary system 다운로드.

Brisku, A. (2015). Renegotiating the empire, forging the nation-state: the Georgian case through the political economic thought of Niko Nikoladze and Noe Zhordania, c 다운로드. 1870–1920. Nationalities Papers.

This article begins with an observation of a contemporary and yet reoccurring political dilemma that small nation-states face with respect to larger states in being either inside or outside of supranational political entities regarding political and economic asymmetries. Employing an intellectual history approach, the article explores this dilemma with reference to the Georgian nation in late-nineteenth century Tsarist Russia and the early twentieth century, when that territory briefly became a nation-state: It explores this through the language of political economy articulated in the thoughts and actions of two founding Georgian national intellectual and political figures, the statesman Niko Nikoladze and Noe Zhordania, who was one of the first prime ministers jboss eap 7. It argues that conceiving of the nation(state) primarily in economic terms, as opposed to exclusively nationalist ones, was more conducive to the option of remaining inside a supranational space.

Eisler, D 이야기 2000 다운로드. F. (2015). Blitzkrieg reconsidered? Assessing the importance of morale and unit cohesion in the 2008 Russia–Georgia war. Defence Studies, 1-19.

The formal model of modern-system force employment developed in Stephen Biddle (2004) book, Military Power, is a standard text in the defense analysis field but has rarely been applied to analyze battlefield outcomes 쓰 리필 다운로드. The 2008 Five-Day War between Russia and the Republic of Georgia provides a compelling case study for empirical testing. The outcome of the conflict reveals an inconsistency between the theoretical model and the actual results, suggesting that technical and tactical force employment variables alone may not be sufficient to explain battlefield dynamics, and that the effects of psychological shock on unit morale and cohesion may constrain how well a military force can perform even while adhering to modern-system doctrine.

Gugushvili, A., Kabachnik, P., & Gilbreath, A 다운로드. H. (2015). Cartographies of Stalin: Place, Scale, and Reputational Politics. The Professional Geographer, 1-12.

This article explores the spatial variation of support for former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in his home country, Georgia. This research contributes to the literature on reputational politics by highlighting the role of spatial, rather than only social, factors in the construction of public opinion about Stalin 다운로드. It illustrates how geographic factors impact Georgians’ perceptions of the Soviet dictator by examining various aspects of place at various scales—including distance to Gori, Stalin’s birthplace, the history of urbanization, and economic and political indices. To this end the authors map attitudes toward the Soviet dictator and use a multilevel spatial regression technique to explain variance in support for Stalin across forty-seven districts of Georgia 다운로드. This enables to explore the impact of place on people’s attitudes by examining (1) whether there are local and regional hotspots of Stalin admiration and, if so, (2) what the contextual explanations of these attitudes are.

Prelz Oltramonti, G. (2015). The political economy of a de facto state: the importance of local stakeholders in the case of Abkhazia. Caucasus Survey, 1-18.

Between 1993 and 2008, the economy of Abkhazia was subjected to a multiplicity of internal and external influences. According to the authorities of the de facto state, its stunted growth was a consequence of what they branded as the ‘Georgian embargo’. However, not only was Russia as strong an influencing actor, but the picture is also skewed if local stakeholders are not taken into consideration. Far from being passive recipients or targets of external pressures, local elites shaped the Abkhaz economy, while financially and politically profiting from it. In this paper, this is shown by tracing the evolution of the Abkhaz economic development through time and underlining its spatial characteristics. Processes of isolation, progressive opening, economic transformation and trade are deconstructed to demonstrate the gap between practice and discourse, and to unveil the key role played by local stakeholders.

Zunes, S. (2015). US–Georgian Relations and the 2008 Conflict with Russia. Peace Review, 27(4), 492-498.

In these article, author reviews the circumstances of the 2008 war and how the United States contributed to the crisis.

New Publications: August-September 2015

Books

Blauvelt, T. K., & Smith, J. (Eds.). (2015). Georgia after Stalin: Nationalism and Soviet Power. Routledge.

This book explores events in Georgia in the years following Stalin’s death in March 1953, especially the demonstrations of March 1956 and their brutal suppression, in order to illuminate the tensions in Georgia between veneration of the memory of Stalin, a Georgian, together with the associated respect for the Soviet system that he had created, and growing nationalism. The book considers how not just Stalin but also his wider circle of Georgians were at the heart of the Soviet system, outlines how greatly Stalin was revered in Georgia, and charts the rise of Khrushchev and his denunciation of Stalin. It goes on to examine the different strands of the rising Georgian nationalist movements, discusses the repressive measures taken against demonstrators, and concludes by showing how the repressions transformed a situation where Georgian nationalism, the honouring of Stalin’s memory and the Soviet system were all aligned together into a situation where an increasingly assertive nationalist movement was firmly at odds with the Soviet Union 크레이지 아케이드 apk 다운로드.

Book Review

Albulescu, A. M. (2015). Reassessing Security in the South Caucasus: Regional Conflicts and Transformation. European Security, 0(0), 1–2.

Academic Articles

Aliyev, H. (2015). Examining the Use of Informal Networks by NGOs in Azerbaijan and Georgia. Journal of Civil Society, 11(3), 317–332.

To date little is known about the non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs) use of informal networks, contacts and connections, as well as about the ‘informalization’ of post-communist civil society in the former Soviet Union. Research on the subject has been mostly restricted to the study of civil society organizations in Central Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Russia, leaving the use and significance of informality among the South Caucasus’s NGOs largely ignored 다운로드. Drawing on qualitative in-depth elite interviews, this study examines the importance of informal networking within the NGO sectors of post-Soviet-rule Azerbaijan and Georgia. The findings of this study document that in Azerbaijan and Georgia the practices of using informal networks of relying on patron–client relations with donors and of individuals using their positions within organizations for profit-making are widespread among the NGOs included in this research.

Broers, L., Iskandaryan, A., & Minasyan, S. (2015). Introduction: The Unrecognized Politics of de facto States in the Post-Soviet space. Caucasus Survey, 0(0), 1–8.

Introducing this special issue of Caucasus Survey on the unrecognized politics of de facto states in the post-Soviet space, this article discusses some of the key problems involved in the study of these entities 모드 오거나이저 2. It relates the origins of the articles contained in this collection and briefly introduces the main themes they deal with: the definition, representational politics, resourcing and engagement of de facto states.

Dafflon, D. (2015). Ethnic Policies in Post-Soviet States: How Inclusive is Georgia? IICEES World Congress, 3-8 August 2015.

Georgia is certainly one of the states of the former Soviet Union in which the national-building process is the mostcomplex. Ethnic diversity which characterizes Georgia makes it by essence a multi-ethnic state. However, thedebate on diversity and on the degree of inclusion of the different ethnic groups composing the Georgian nationremains extremely vivid in the country 전세 계약서 다운로드. It particularly concerns the Armenian community of Georgia, representingapproximately 7%.

The seizure of power by Mikheil Saakashvili in 2003 was accompanied by a more inclusive discourse on thenation, thus instilling among the representatives of national minorities the hope of better opportunities in terms ofpolitical participation and economic inclusion. Simultaneously to this new civic discourse, the authorities aimedto restore their presence on the territory inhabited by ethnic minorities through both concrete and symbolic statebuildingmeasures. Thus, the state based its integration policy on strong imposition of the state language uponrepresentatives of national minorities, hoping to strengthen their feeling of belonging to Georgia as a state.

Kabachnik, P., Gugushvili, A., & Jishkariani, D 다운로드. (2015). A Personality Cult’s Rise and Fall: Three Cities after Khrushchev’s “Secret Speech” and the Stalin Monument that Never Was. Region: Regional Studies of Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, 4(2), 309–326.

Recently, in post-Soviet space, new Stalin statues have been created, and old ones have reappeared. These battles, both symbolic and material, over monuments fuel and exemplify contemporary “memory wars.” This article highlights the disparate meanings of three historical Stalin monuments that served as focal points for three major cases of mass demonstrations during Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization campaign: Tbilisi, Budapest, and Prague. Next, drawing on newly found materials from Tbilisi’s Central Committee Archive of the Communist Party of Georgia, this article discusses Bogdan Muradovich Kirakosian’s never-realized project to build a massive Stalin monument that would have overlooked Tbilisi php txt. Last is the analysis of survey data that captures individuals’ attitudes towards Stalin for those born in Georgia before 1945 in order to surmise how such a grand monument to Stalin would have been received at the time.

Paul, A. (2015). The EU in the South Caucasus and the Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War. The International Spectator, 50(3), 30–42.

Despite hopes that it would act as a transformative tool in the South Caucasus to strengthen democracy, stability, security and regional cooperation, the Eastern Partnership (EaP) has produced limited results, with the region more fragmented today than it was five years ago. Russia’s war against Ukraine has further exacerbated the situation, raising concerns over the extent to which South Caucasus countries can genuinely rely on the West 시크릿 쥬쥬 11 기 다운로드. Today, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan have different geostrategic trajectories. While Georgia has stuck to the Euro-Atlantic track, Armenia joined the Russian-led Eurasian Union in January 2015. Meanwhile Azerbaijan has the luxury of choosing not to choose. Developments in the region have demonstrated that a ‘one size fits all’ approach does not work and a more differentiated policy is required.

Slade, G. (2015). Violence as Information During Prison Reform: Evidence from the Post-Soviet Region. British Journal of Criminology.

When reform occurs in prison systems, prisoner insecurity increases 다운로드. One reason for this is disorganization. The disruption to informal governance structures, distributions of power and mechanisms for establishing trust causes conflicts. This paper argues that a key mechanism linking disorganization to conflict and violence is information flow. Incomplete information in interpersonal interaction marks prison settings. Informal institutions for producing certainty for both staff and prisoners emerge to overcome this. Such institutions are handicapped by reform directed at reducing informal prisoner controls. In such cases, violence becomes an information-generating activity and can substitute for reputation. The paper examines this proposition as it applies to prisoners and staff through a critical case study of radical prison reform in the South Caucasus country of post-Soviet Georgia bootcamp 3.0 다운로드.

Skhirtladze, N., Javakhishvili, N., Schwartz, S. J., Beyers, W., & Luyckx, K. (2015). Identity Processes and Statuses in Post-Soviet Georgia: Exploration Processes Operate Differently. Journal of Adolescence.

When reform occurs in prison systems, prisoner insecurity increases. One reason for this is disorganization. The disruption to informal governance structures, distributions of power and mechanisms for establishing trust causes conflicts 다운로드. This paper argues that a key mechanism linking disorganization to conflict and violence is information flow. Incomplete information in interpersonal interaction marks prison settings. Informal institutions for producing certainty for both staff and prisoners emerge to overcome this. Such institutions are handicapped by reform directed at reducing informal prisoner controls. In such cases, violence becomes an information-generating activity and can substitute for reputation. The paper examines this proposition as it applies to prisoners and staff through a critical case study of radical prison reform in the South Caucasus country of post-Soviet Georgia.

Zarifian, J. (2015). U.S. Foreign Policy in the 1990s and 2000s, and the Case of the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia). European journal of American studies, (Vol 10, no 2).

The foreign policy of the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations in the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) shows U.S. foreign policy under a rather positive light. With consistency and continuity, they were able to implement a multidimensional realistic foreign policy, the main manifestations of which allowed the U.S. to gain, in a few years, solid political, economic, military, and diplomatic leverages. Its vital interests were not at stake in the region and, from the early 1990s onwards, it has been in the position of a potent “challenger” that worked on consolidating its position in order to be influential and powerful when and if necessary. Although it did not become the sole dominant regional power, the U.S. succeeded, mostly in the second half of the 1990s and the first half of the 2000s, in strongly geopolitically penetrating a region with which it previously had no contact and on which it had no major expertise.

New Publications: June-July 2015

Book Chapter

Bolkvadze, Ketevan & Naylor, Rachel (2015). Georgia’s European Mirage. In Bachmann, Veit & Müller, Martin (eds.) Perceptions of the EU in Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa: Looking in from the Outside 브이레이 3.4. Palgrave Macmillan.

Aliyev, H. (2015). Institutional Transformation and Informality in Azerbaijan and Georgia. In Morris, Jeremy & Polese, Abel (eds.) Informal Economies in Post-Socialist Spaces: Practices, Institutions and Networks, Palgrave Macmillan 김용임 노래.

Academic Articles

Rekhviashvili, L. (2015). Marketization and the public-private divide: Contestations between the state and the petty traders over the access to public space in Tbilisi 다운로드. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 35(7/8), 478-496.

Bridging the critical literature on the politics of the public space with Polanyi’s theory on commodification of fictitious commodities as a precondition of establishment of a market economy, the author argues that for the Georgian government control of the public space was necessary to pursue neoliberal marketisation policies. These policies required removal of the petty traders from public spaces because the state needed to restrict access to public space and limit its commercial usage to delineate public and private property and allow commodification of the urban land and property 신삼국지 드라마 다운로드. As the commodification intensified and the rent prices started growing and fluctuating, the access to the public space became even more valuable for the petty traders. Therefore, the traders developed subversive tactics undermining the division between public and private space and property.

Curro, C 다운로드. (2015). Davabirzhaot! Conflicting claims on public space in Tbilisi between transparency and opaqueness. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 35(7/8), 497-512.

The present analysis points out contradictions in Saakashvili’s government’s political narrative on public space 체리 마스터 1991 다운로드. In the institutional focus on a future of order, transparency, and democracy, birzha is an insistent reminder of an informal and corrupted past. Banned from futuristic projections of the public space, in the present birzha is annihilated by state repression, enforced in opaque zones out of public sight 현재시간 다운로드.

Think-Tank Reports

Popjanevski, Johanna (2015). Retribution and the Rule of Law: The Politics of Justice in Georgia. Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program (CACI-SRSP).

This paper examines the judicial system in Georgia in light of the arrests and prosecution of several former government officials between 2012 and 2014. More specifically, the author looks at 1) the independence of the judiciary in the country and the extent to which the prosecutions were influenced by the executive; and 2) whether the arrests are purely punitive or whether they have been used to weaken political opponents of the government 다운로드. In general, she contends that there is enough evidence to suggest a lack of judicial independence in the country. In fact, there seems to an increase in the political use of the judiciary in the country.

Thesis

Graalfs, U 윈도우 보안 업데이트 수동 다운로드. (2015). A Critical Geopolitical Assessment of the Georgian-Abkhaz Peace Process (Doctoral dissertation, Freie Universität Berlin).

In 2008 the conflict between Georgia and the secessionist republics Abkhazia and South Ossetia escalated into a war between Georgia and Russia. The case study about the Georgian-Abkhaz Peace process investigates the developments of this process in the post-Soviet era, tracing the reasons for its eventual collapse and the military conflict between Georgia and Russia, with grave consequences for the post-Cold War European security architecture 아키 에이지 다운로드. The text also provides a handbook of the Georgian-Abkhaz peace process, the first peace process Russia was involved in as mediator in the post-Soviet era.

New Publications: April-May 2015

Book Chapter

Kakachia, K. (2015). Europeanisation and Georgian foreign policy. In The South Caucasus Between integration and fragmentation (pp. 11-18). SAM & EPC

Euro-Atlantic integration is Georgia’s top foreign policy priority. It is less a question of choice than a strategic necessity. Tbilisi’s main objectives are close association with the EU; visa liberalisation; obtaining a Membership Action Plan (MAP) from NATO; and securing economic assistance from the West. While refraining from formal diplomatic relations with Moscow due to Russia’s occupation of the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Georgian authorities want to engage in a constructive dialogue with Russia without having to sacrifice national interests. As the government so far displays no subservience to Russian influence and repeatedly emphasises the need for continued Euro-Atlantic integration, there are some indirect signs that Moscow, emboldened by the change of leadership in Tbilisi, is seeking to lure Georgia into the Russian political and security realm.

Academic Articles

Kabachnik, P., & Gugushvili, A. (2015). Unconditional love? Exploring hometown effect in Stalin’s birthplace. Caucasus Survey, 1-23.

This article explores the impact of spatial location – place – on people’s attitudes by examining whether support for Stalin is concentrated in his birthplace: Gori, Georgia 건담 더블오 2기. Using a variety of multivariate statistical methods, including propensity score-matching, we examine a recent survey indicating high levels of admiration for Stalin in his home country. We explore two main questions: First, is there a “hometown effect” – do people in Gori love Stalin unconditionally because they came from the same place? Second, is Gori so exceptional from the rest of Georgia? We conclude that there is indeed a stronger level of support for Stalin in Gori, but when shifting scales and looking within the category, we find that the highest admiration stems from the town’s rural outskirts.

Gould, R. (2015). Everyday Violence, Quotidian Grief: Patriarchal Bargains in Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge. Dossier: Journal of Women Living Under Muslim Laws, 32-33, 123-135.

Across the Caucasus and Central Asia, bridal kidnapping has increased since the collapse of the Soviet Union. This proliferation is linked in part to increased economic hardship and the resurgence of conservative identity politics. This essay focuses on bridal kidnapping in the Pankisi Gorge, a region of Georgia inhabited by a Chechen-speaking Muslim community, the Kists 다운로드. While local Kist activists reject the view that bridal kidnapping derives from Chechen values and denounce the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators, the relation between patriarchy and local culture cannot be mapped according to a single axis. I concentrate on one Kist women with whom I interacted extensively to explore issues of consent and agency in a social milieu that managed sexual desire through marriage contract. Drawing on the paradigm of the ‘patriarchal bargain’ pioneered by Kandiyoti (1988), I trace how Kist women assert agency from within restrictive patriarchal contexts. At the same time, and in keeping with Kandiyoti, I examine how women participate in the consolidation of patriarchal values. Ultimately, I show that women give consensual assent to everyday violence against women in contexts where their culture and values are perceived as under threat from external forces.

Brun, C. (2015). Home as a Critical Value: From Shelter to Home in Georgia. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 31(1), 43-54.

Providing shelter and housing is a core area of humanitarian assistance for displaced populations. Georgia, a former Soviet republic in the South Caucasus, has experienced displacement since the early 1990s, and housing has proved to be politically contentious and a major concern during the 20-year displacement crisis 다운로드. In Georgia, as elsewhere, homemaking takes place during displacement in dwellings that are temporary and not supposed to last. The article explores the conditions that enable such homemaking and discusses what Iris Marion Young terms “home as a critical value.” One trial project is used as an example: the building of 42 small houses, termed “block houses,” in Kutaisi, Western Georgia, by the Norwegian Refugee Council in 2002 and 2003. The article explores the relationships and homemaking practices in and around the houses that people have developed since that date. Relative to others, the project has been a positive example of how to enable home as a critical value. The article first defines house-as-home and introduces the case explored; it then discusses internal displacement and “durable housing solutions” in Georgia, before turning to explore how shelter, housing, home, and homemaking can be conceptualized in displacement . By engaging with Iris Marion Young’s “home as a critical value,” the article analyzes how people have adjusted to and adapted the block houses in Kutaisi to understand the relationship between the houses and the homemaking that takes place within and around them. The concluding section discusses how home as a critical value may help to show the importance of identity and social status for housing strategies in protracted displacement.

German, T. (2015). Heading west? Georgia’s Euro‐Atlantic path. International Affairs, 91(3), 601-614 aix 5.3 다운로드.

Events in Ukraine in 2014 are likely to transform the presence and role of western institutions such as NATO in the post-Soviet area. The crisis has starkly revealed the limits of their influence within Russia’s ‘zone of privileged interest’, as well as the lack of internal unity within these organizations vis-à-vis relations with Moscow and future engagement with the area. This will have long-term implications for the South Caucasus state of Georgia, whose desire for integration into the Euro-Atlantic community remains a key priority for its foreign and security policy-makers. This article examines the main motivators behind Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic path and its foreign policy stance, which has remained unchanged for over a decade despite intense pressure from Russia. It focuses on two aspects of Georgia’s desire for integration with European and Euro-Atlantic structures: its desire for security and the belief that only a western alignment can guarantee its future development, and the notion of Georgia’s ‘European’ identity. The notion of ‘returning’ to Europe and the West has become a common theme in Georgian political and popular discourse, reflecting the belief of many in the country that they are ‘European’. This article explores this national strategic narrative and argues that the prevailing belief in a European identity facilitates, rather than supersedes, the central role of national interests in Georgian foreign policy 다운로드.

Bagnardi, F. (2015). The Changing Pattern of Social Dialogue in Europe and the Influence of ILO and EU-Georgian Tripartism. Caucasus Social Science Review (CSSR), 2(1).

This paper aims to analyse the establishment of tripartite social dialogue practices at national level in the Republic of Georgia. The introduction of such practice is the result of European Union’s political pressures, International Labour Organization’s technical assistance and international trade unions confederations’ (namely the ETUC and the ITUC) support. After describing the practices of social dialogue in Western and Eastern Europe, the paper outlines, with a comparative viewpoint, the process that led to the establishment of a national commission for a tripartite social dialogue between government and organized social partners in Georgia. A particular attention is paid to the pressure, leverage and technical help provided by the aforementioned international actors in this process. Moreover, the research illustrates the main achievements and failures of tripartitism in Georgia, as well as the principal constraints that limit the effectiveness of this practice. It is therefore analysed the influence that possible future development of tripartite dialogue between government and social partners can have on the social, economic and political development of the country as a whole 카툰워즈 블레이드 다운로드.

Barkaia, M. (2015). Inception and Demise of Laboratory 1918: Gendering Resistance in Georgia. Caucasus Social Science Review (CSSR), 2(1).

During the past few years, a reawakening of student activism and political concern has taken place in Georgia. Students have emerged as new social actors and have taken up a pioneering role in the formation of new forms of social protest. In the milieu of post-Soviet left-wing nihilism, a left-wing organization called Laboratory 1918 endeavored to make left-wing rhetoric relevant in public life without the stigma of being pro-Soviet and aspired to bring change through collective action. This paper explores the nature of student activism on the example of Laboratory 1918; it also investigates where Laboratory 1918 and its members position themselves in relation to gender oppression and how it impacts their feminist stance and activism.

Dolidze, N. (2015). Public Administration Reforms in Georgia: Establishing Administrative Model for State Organizations. Caucasus Social Science Review (CSSR), 2(1).

The article compares the results of two waves of PA reforms in Georgian public sector in the period of 2004-2012 and overviews advantages and disadvantages of competitive and professional models of civil service in developing countries on the example of Georgia 다운로드. The paper discusses results of the study conducted by the GIPA School of Government in 2014 on problems and challenges in Georgian public organizations and links them with the process of reform. We consider four instruments of internal organizational development – performance measurement, motivation, strategic planning and participatory approach to the decision making, which were introduced to the public organizations during the PA reforms in Georgia, and estimate how effectively they have been implemented.

Schlegel, A. (2015). Georgia’s Integration into a Contested World: Finding the Middle Way Between Differentiation and Inclusiveness. Caucasus Social Science Review (CSSR), 2(1).

Nowadays, inter-state relations are well organized, and even present some similarities to human relations. This realization has led to the elaboration of the concept of ‘societies of states’, to describe how states with similar interests and values come to elaborate common rules to which they accept to submit themselves. Some of these societies have been institutionalized: the United Nations Organization, the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, the Council of Europe etc 다운로드. Georgia as a relatively new state has deployed considerable efforts to join some of these societies, notably the EU. However, the success of such endeavours does not depend only upon the efforts of the candidate state: it also depends upon the willingness of the older member states of these societies to accept a new member. This article is aiming at measuring this willingness on the side of the EU member states, in relation to Georgia’s integration efforts. It also tries to expose the mechanisms beyond the EU’s requests for changes to Georgia, requests presented as accession conditions.

Policy Briefs

MacFarlane, N. S. (2015). Two Years of the Dream: Georgian Foreign Policy During the Transition. Chatham House, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Research Paper.

Since coming to power in late 2012, the Georgian Dream coalition has encountered an extremely challenging foreign and domestic policy environment – marked, in particular, by the difficulty of balancing relationships with the West and Russia respectively. In its first year, the government’s foreign policy was impaired by inexperience and lack of professionalism, as well as by confusion and dysfunctionality caused by the sharing of power with President Mikheil Saakashvili. However, pragmatism and the depoliticization of economic issues have improved Georgia’s relations with Russia, but the process of normalization was truncated by Russia’s continuing unwillingness to accept Georgia’s right to choose freely its security arrangements jfreechart. The relative success of Georgian Dream’s foreign policy so far has been largely a product of exogenous circumstances that encouraged the West and Russia to look more favourably on Georgia. The West’s disapproval of Georgian Dream’s justice agenda against former government officials did not prevent Georgia from signing an association agreement with the European Union and an enhanced programme of cooperation with NATO. Furthermore, the Georgian government achieved this without encountering significant interference from Russia. However, there appears to be little prospect for – and no clear government strategy towards – normalization of the relationship with Russia or membership of NATO and the EU.

Thesis

Costello, M. (2015). Law as Adjunct to Custom? Abkhaz custom and law in today’s state-building and ‘modernisation’ (Doctoral dissertation). University of Kent.

The setting for research is Abkhazia a small country south of the Caucasus Mountains and bordering Europe and the Near East. The Abkhaz hold onto custom – apswara – to make of state law an adjunct to custom as the state strives to strengthen its powers to ‘modernise’ along capitalist lines 다운로드. This institution of a parallel-cum-interwoven and oppositional existence of practices and the laws questions the relationship of the two in a novel way. The bases of apswara are its concepts of communality and fairness. Profound transformations have followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and the breakaway from and subsequent war with Georgia, none of which have brought the bright prospects that were hoped-for with independence. The element of hope in post-Soviet nostalgia provides pointers to what the Abkhaz seek to enact for their future, to decide the course of change that entertains the possibility of a non-capitalist modernisation route and a customary state. Apswara is founded on the direct participatory democracy of non-state regulation. It draws members of all ethnicities into the generation of nationalist self-awareness that transcends ethnicity and religions, and forms around sacred shrines and decisions taken by popular assemblies. It has topical significance for other societies where custom and law co-habit through contestation, and questions some widely accepted theories about the relationship of the two, as well as problematising anthropological concepts of ‘legal pluralism’ and post-Sovietics.