Under Siege
Inter-Ethnic Relations in Abkhazia
Columbia University Press
Published on 1. December 2009
Book
Hardback
160 pages
978-0-231-70130-3 (ISBN)
Description
Located in the northeastern corner of the Black Sea, Abkhazia was once part of Georgia but broke away from the country after the fall of the Soviet Republic. For fifteen years the region functioned as a de facto independent, though internationally unrecognized, state, until August of 2008, when the short war over South Ossetia (another breakaway territory) ended in Russia's recognition of Abkhazian and South Ossetian sovereignty. Consequently, Abkhazia has become a crucial component of Russia's struggle to redefine its global influence and a major player in its geopolitical battle with the West. Under Siege clarifies Abkhazia's ethno-political dynamics, which have played a major role in the country's state-building efforts and have come to shape the conditions under which the country's many ethnic communities live. Abkhazians, Armenians, Georgians, and Russians all call Abkhazia home, and this volume explores the effect of the government's de facto status on these groups' ideas of nationhood and continuing tensions between Georgia, Abkhazia, and Russia.
This book also launches a rare investigation into the conflict brewing among human rights, minority protections, and Abkhazia's state building project.
This book also launches a rare investigation into the conflict brewing among human rights, minority protections, and Abkhazia's state building project.
Reviews / Votes
This well-researched, original volume is one of the very few scholarly books in English about the internal dynamics of Abkhazia. Highly recommended. Choice April 2012More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 127 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-231-70130-3 (9780231701303)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Tom Trier is senior research associate for the European Centre for Minority Issues and its regional director in the Caucasus. He lives in Tbilisi, Georgia. Hedvig Lohm is a political scientist and journalist living in Sweden. She has worked for the Swedish Foreign Ministry and the United Nations Development Program in Georgia. David Szakonyi is a research associate at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C.