The Policy of Cooperation of the Georgian Government in the Occupied Tskhinvali Region

Abstract

The 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.