Armed Conflict between Georgia and Russia Case Studies of ‘Peace Process in Abkhazian-Ossetian Ethnopolitical Conflict’

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Academic Club For Peace-Conflict Studies, University of Ottawa

Abstract

The post-conflict peacebuilding process between two major ethnicities under the central authority of Georgia - Abkhazians and Ossetians - has a long history that dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. This studytries to address the dynamic of thefrozen conflict and an unstable ceasefire in Georgia, from the early 1990s, when the conflicts erupted, to early 2019. The central claim of the research is that despite the long peace process, which first mediated and arranged by the United Nations (UN) and Russia and since 2008 negotiated and mediated by the European Union (EU) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), has not brought about any serious progress towards a peace settlement. Hence, a frozen hostility and potential conflict zone in the Caucasus persists. 
The main goal of this study is to give a more up-to-date understanding of the Abkhazian and South Ossetian conflicts (calledanethnoterritorial-ethnopolitical conflict in Post-Soviet era), and to explore how it plays in and influences the peace process. To explain the relatively stable frozen nature of the conflicts, the paper focuses on the role of the protector state and ofEU as the main mediator. By analyzing the process of peace settlements, and particularly thefaults made by international organizations and other external players, this research aims to recommend new potential peace approaches to the conflict in this area.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Iran and Central Eurasia Studies
Volume 2, Issue 1
2019
Pages 23-42

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