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Browsing Thesis by Subject "Abkhazia"
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Item Foreign Trade Problems in the Occupied Regions of Georgia(Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi state university, Faculty of social and political sciences, 2021-06) Kvinikadze, GiorgiThe study of the economies of the occupied regions of Georgia (with some exceptions, most of which are of an informative nature), especially the study of their foreign economicrelations, has not yet become the subject of scientific research. How do the occupied regions choose their trading partners? What factors determine this choice? Which countries are their official or informal trading partners? What is the commodity structure of their foreign trade? These are the questions that need to be discussed scientifically in the social sciences. The purpose of this study is to make a modest contribution to these discussions by examining the geographic and commodity structure of foreign trade in the occupied regions of Georgia. However, it should be noted that the study provides a generalized picture of the foreign trade of these regions and will focus only on those empirical data that are suitable for the research aspect. Why are these occupied regions? The choice of these regions as empirical cases is due to several reasons. These regions play an important role in achieving the geopolitical goals of Russia in the Caucasus region, therefore, in addition to the theoretical significance, the article also acquires practical significance. On the other hand, since these regions are de jure part of Georgia, the work acquires a certain relevance. The study uses Temporal and spatial approaches. The main method is the Case Study method. To collect and analyze data, the study uses such specific methodological techniques as: 1. Analysis of primary sources - content analysis of official documents related to foreign trade; 2. Analysis of secondary sources - scientific literature that exists on the subject under study. This applies to both theoretical literature and research directly related to the occupied region. The situation between Georgia and the occupied territories did not improve after the 2008 war. However, informal trade between Georgia and the occupied regions has intensified. The volume of foreign trade between Abkhazia and other countries has also increased. Despite the controversy, Georgia tried to legalize trade. In 2017, Georgia and Russia began negotiations on the creation of a trade corridor through the so-called South Ossetia. At the same time, the European Union began to consider various options for including the Abkhazian business within the framework of the free trade agreement between Georgia and the European Union. Although the process of implementing such initiatives is going through a crisis at this stage, it still opens up certain opportunities. In particular, the powerful economic stimulus that these regions received from the Russian Federation is gradually weakening due to the economic situation in Russia. This process has intensified especially since 2014, when the West introduced tough sanctions against Russia and at the same time the price of oil on the world market fell sharply. That is why the governments of Abkhazia and the so-called South Ossetia, which officially oppose trade with Georgia, are at the same time considering the possibility of raising customs duties in order to increase their source of income regardless of Russia. Informal trade continues to develop. However, it is less likely that the so-called South Ossetian corridor or the possibility of expanding the privileges of the European Union in Abkhazia will arise very soon. Trade by itself will not change the main political position of either side and will not resolve the conflict (a political settlement of which is still a distant prospect). Nevertheless, negotiations on the development of mutually beneficial trade can help launch communication channels that have been tightly closed for a long time. This is a chance to close the so-called black holes of informal trade and turn it into a formal framework. At the same time, we need to establish a dialogue in this specific area with the active participation of our Western partners. It is important that the benefits from the process of Georgia's European integration become available to both Abkhazia and the population of the so-called South Ossetia.Item The Policy of Cooperation of the Georgian Government in the Occupied Tskhinvali Region(2020) Darbaidze, EkaThe Georgian-Ossetian conflict is a typical example of ethnopolitical conflict, largely due to the destructive policies of the Supreme Soviet Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), which they pursued in the Allied republics from the 1980s. The situation became extremely tense after the collapse of the Soviet Union and took the form of a large-scale armed conflict, which had an ethnonational face and which initially took the form of a "Georgian-Ossetian conflict." Moscow's imperial policy has made a greater contribution to this conflict rather than contradictions between the Georgian and Ossetian peoples. Conflicts on the territory of Georgia have been officially registered in the international arena since the August 2008 war and have acquired the status of Georgian-Russian conflict. The so-called Ossetian population living in the so-called South Ossetian territory has always been considered as an integrated part of the economic, social, cultural, and ethnic structure of the Georgian state. This article aims to study the strategy of the Georgian government and its policies towards the occupied regions of Georgia, in particular in so-called South Ossetia. Despite many interesting initiatives developed and presented by the Georgian side, which focused on the well-being of the population living in the region, the efforts are unfortunately inefficient, as Russia continues its policy of isolating the occupied regions of Georgia from the outside world. For studing above mentioned issue, the political perspective of neo-realization, same as structural realism were used, with the help of which we tried to analize the Russia- Georgia conflict and unsuccessful attempts of cooperation by the Georgian authorities in the conflict region. The theoretical framework of the project neo- realism explains the conflicts between Russia and Georgia with several possible reasons: the anarchy (internal and external), the weakness of the rights of the Georgian government, the balance of power, the secure dilemma. According to neo- realism, the most important reason that causes conflict is anarchy, because "there is no world government, which could prevent the unlawful use of force by countries. Countries can have their own goals, including military policy. In the case of a conflict between Russia and Georgia, Russia has attacked a sovereign state and that's it what represents an international anarchy, the so-called South Ossetia was a province of Georgia and therefore the conflict was only an internal matter of Georgia. The content analysis method of qualitative research was used to study the issue, based on secondary data, for which official documents of the Georgian government as well as of the international community and media sources were used, including: TV interviews and articles. Today, Russia, despite its growing political, cultural and informational influence in the occupied territories of Georgia, still fails to create an attractive development paradigm for the local population. As a result of the occupation, the territories separated from Georgia are practically formed into so-called enclaves, which can have much more severe consequences than the fact that these regions are on the territory occupied by any country. There may be too many processes in these areas that will be detrimental to Ossetian communities, and this area may become a destructive space. Consequently, the fight against the isolation of the Ossetian community living in the occupied region of Georgia is possible only through openness and the emergence of new incentives and tools for engagement. Optimization of its own policy by Europe and Tbilisi's maximum confidence in the issue of non-recognition with its partners will be an unalternative approach to build lasting peace in the country and start the process of reconciling people divided by the conflict.