The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the motives, means and implications of the Russian involvement in the Abkhaz-Georgian conflict. It seeks to find answers to the following questions: what are the dynamics of the Russian policy towards Abkhazia / how the contradictions in Russian domestic policy are reflected in the Russian policy towards Abkhazia / what are the implications of the Russian involvement in the conflict and the peace process. This dissertation argues that the Russian involvement in the Abkhaz-Georgian conflict has not contributed to the settlement of the conflict and peace in the region but rather to the realization of Russia&rsquo / s own interests by deepening the crisis in the region. Thus, Russia has conducted neither a pro-Abkhaz nor pro-Georgian policy in this conflict. The second chapter of this thesis examines the historical background of the conflict. The emergence, evolution and nature of the conflict are analyzed in the second chapter. The third chapter focuses on the reasons of the Russian involvement during the war between the Abkhaz and the Georgian forces. The Russian policy towards the Abkhaz conflict before and after the Rose Revolution is analyzed in the fourth and fifth chapters.

ix, 161 p. : maps / In 2002, the Russian government began distributing tens of thousands of Russian passports in the de facto states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Some scholarly attention has been devoted to this process, known as passportization, but most of the literature treats passportization as a primarily political process, ignoring its geographic aspects. This thesis shows that passportization in Abkhazia and South Ossetia amounted to a process of "biocolonization," wherein the populations of the de facto states were discursively captured by Russia through individual naturalization. Consequently, passportization served to create "Russian spaces" within the internationally recognized borders of Georgia and, in the process challenged international legal norms rooted in the logic of the modern state system. / Committee in charge: Dr. Alexander Murphy, Chair; Dr. Shaul Cohen, Member; Dr. Julie Hessler, Member

This thesis has for major aim to present the de facto state through another approach, by placing their intrinsic frozen conflict situation as a rational choice rather than a symptom of the lack of recognition. To do so, the case studies of Transnistria and Somaliland have been chosen since, the de facto state's academic field had, so far, focus more on the Caucasus' cases - therefore lack of similar comparisons. It appears indeed that, both these cases possess numerous similarities - such as not basing their identity on ethnicity or religion. Thus, through an empirical research, it has been possible to approach the establishment of these two de facto states and the reason behind the lack of international recognition; but also the role and influence of the frozen conflict within their internal evolution as well as their role in its perpetuation; and finally, the place of their parent state and the international community in the continuation of the status quo. It seems thus that, if it remains unlikely to find out if Somaliland and Transnistria do use the frozen conflict as a political tool to reach their political goals - namely international recognition but also identity building -, it appears that all actors involved in these conflicts do benefit from the perpetuation of such status quo.

Scholars in the peace and conflict field oftentimes argue that peace is somewhat underconceptualised. The Varieties of Peace network has made a substantial effort in furthering the conceptualisation of peace by creating a comprehensive framework, theorising peace as three different approaches: situational, relational and ideational. In this thesis, I explored how this framework can be applied in an empirical context and how the approaches relate to each other; testing the internal validity and assumptions of the framework. By shifting the common focus of peace from stability to a dynamic process of change, I studied how peace changes in an empirical context that is typically understood as static: frozen conflicts. In a case study on Abkhazia from 1994-2008, I used process-tracing to study how the three approaches relate to each other, either harmoniously or with dissonance, and to describe the changes of peace in a frozen conflict. I conclude that the Varieties of Peace framework has proven to be useful when studying the dynamics of peace and how it changes in a post-conflict setting. It has been especially useful in capturing the cyclical dynamic of change in a frozen conflict. The framework has comparative and comprehensive advantages in studying the peace as a complex, dynamic process, but inhibits some issues regarding the trade-off between complexity and parsimony and concerning the internal validity. Further research is needed in order to utilise its full potential as a framework that can be used to systematically study the varieties of peace in the world.

This paper investigates why patron states choose to adopt a passive strategy in relation to de facto states. Pål Kolstø from the University of Oslo has claimed that this strategy is based on the assumption that de facto states have nowhere else to turn. In this thesis, role theory is used to expand this claim. The paper argues that patron states can adopt a passive strategy in relation to their clients when they expect role coherence. This occurs when the perceptions of both actors of the patron’s role are in alignment. Role theory places emphasis on both leaders and followers in bilateral relations, which enables a deeper exploration of the perspectives of both actors. The selected case study focuses on the relationship between Russia and the de facto state Abkhazia, acknowledged by previous research as a client characterised by a high degree of defiance. Thematic analysis by Braun and Clarke was used to identify roles on which the study was based. The material encompasses 25 articles each from the Abkhaz newspaper Respublika Abkhaziya and Russian newspaper Izvestiya during the years 2019 and 2020.  The thesis concludes that role coherence was present in this relationship. Despite diverging attitudes and interests, the perception of Russia’s role was clearly reflected in Abkhaz media. The results indicate that role theory can be used to explore how patron states conduct foreign policy and enables a more comprehensive study of patron-client relationships.

I detta arbete har jag försökt utröna vilken bild av Ryssland som kommer till uttryck i de fyra största svenska dagstidningarnas (Aftonbladet, Expressen, Svenska Dagbladet och Dagens Nyheter) rapportering av konflikten i Georgien sommaren 2008. Med utgångspunkt i Sture Nilssons Rysskräcken i Sverige – Fördomar och verklighet  har jag konstruerat en idealtyp, bestående av begreppen fientlighet, rädsla och misstro . Med detta som analysverktyg har jag studerat den rapportering som skedde mellan 2008-08-08 – 2008-08-12, dvs. under den väpnade delen av konflikten. I denna rapportering har idealtypens begrepp med stor tydlighet varit representerade i både ledare och allmän rapportering, dock inte med alla aspekter som ingick i definitionen för fientlighet. Begreppet rädsla  har endast yttrats otvetydigt under den sista dagens rapportering. Rapporteringen har varit liknande i alla fyra tidningar till innehållet, dock med något starkare tendenser i lösnummerpressen (Aftonbladet och Expressen) och med större volym i Dagens Nyheter och Svenska Dagbladet. / In this essay I have attempted to determine what image of Russia was expressed in the largest newspapers in Sweden (Aftonbladet, Expressen, Svenska Dagbladet och Dagens Nyheter), during the conflict in Georgia in the summer of 2008. Starting with the image presented by Sture Nilsson in Rysskräcken i Sverige – Fördomar och verklighet, I have constructed an ideal consisting of the terms hostility, fear, and mistrust. These factors have then been used to analyse the reports between 2008-08-08 – 2008-08-12, which was the armed part of the conflict. I have found that the factors composing the ideal have been expressed clearly, in editorials as well as in news articles, with the exception of some of the factors that define hostility. The term fear  has only been expressed unequivocally in the last day’s reports. Reports have shown little variation between the different newspapers, although the tabloid press (Aftonbladet and Expressen) have expressed these tendencies slightly stronger, and the volume of reports have been noticeably larger in Svenska Dagbladet and Dagens Nyheter.

In an attempt to bridge the gap between theories of violent escalation and those of genocide, this paper theorizes genocide to be a strategic choice by leaders in response to a situation which they perceive to lack alternatives. This situation is expected to evolve out of a violent escalation, more precisely civil war. The empirical test consists of a structured focused comparison of one positive and one negative case; namely the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the conflict in Georgia over the region Abkhazia. The finding gives some evidence to the theory, however a more adequate theory needs to also involve a theorization of the ability to perpetrate genocide and not only of a lack of other alternatives. The study builds on previous research on the relationship between violent escalation and genocide, and findings are in line with existing research.

Over the course of history, the organisation of human societies has gone through several evolutionary stages. Their peak, primarily in Europe, took the form of states as polities structured around an ethnical basis-nation states. In many cases, their rise and downfall could be rather violent which led to growing social instability. Therefore, international communities began looking for mechanisms to regulate these processes. From the perspective of international law, it was necessary mainly to define the term state and codify the requirements an entity had to meet in order to be considered one. The Montevideo Convention established an elementary quartet, necessitating the presence of a population, territory, executive power and the ability to fully participate in international relationships, i.e. possess external sovereignty. These four aspects, however, still did not entirely suffice which is why secondary requirements kept being inconsistently added, addressing primarily the entity's inner character and its attitude to, for example, upholding universal human rights or minority rights. Nonetheless, simply meeting the above-mentioned criteria is not enough to establish a fully functioning state. In the modern world, it is essentially impossible for a new state to be created without infringing on...

This study aims to answer two interlinked questions with respect to ethnic conflict in Georgia: Why and how two ethnic groups (Abkhazians and Ossetians) in Georgia sought secession in 1990s rather than accepting unity under a common Georgian roof, and what explains the occurrence of ethnic conflicts between the Abkhazians and Georgians and between the South Ossetians and Georgians? The central argument of this thesis is that Soviet nationality policy was a foremost driving force in shaping consciousness of being ethnic groups in Georgia and set the stage for the inter-ethnic conflicts of the post-Soviet era. A number of factors explain the particular inter-ethnic conflicts in Georgia among ethnic groups, including a long historical relationship between the Georgian people and the Abkhaz and Ossetian minorities, but I argue that the foremost factor was the role of Soviet nationality policy that evolved from Lenin to Gorbachev, a policy that granted ethnic groups some level of privileges and fostered a wave of national self-assertion, Soviet nationality policy and the Soviet federal structure created numerous ethnic- and territorial-based autonomous units during the Soviet era; these units shaped their own political institutions, national intelligentsias, and bureaucratic elites, forming the basis for later nationalistic movements and developing a wish for self-determination and full independence. These institutions and beliefs made ethnic conflict in a post-Soviet Georgia inevitable.

This master thesis deals with the mapping and analysis of Russian-Georgian relations in the period between 2004-2011. It focuses primarily on the development of relations after the onset of the new Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and after his transformation of Georgian Policy. The work is divided into chronological historical axis of events, from the history of Georgia and Georgian people, the author gets to the problems of August war in 2008. The main objective of this work is to find the causes of the war between Russia and Georgia, to map out its long-standing hostile relations and try to find its solutions. Starting point of this work is the assumption that Georgia and Russia have always been nations culturally very similar and therefore its friendly relations are essential for the regulation of conflicts on Georgia's borders. Russia as a powerful neighbor, has always had a superiority over Georgia. Therefore, in subsequent chapters is enhanced the need for intervention by international organizations such as NATO, OSCE, EU, etc. issues in Russian-Georgian conflict, in order to offset the forces of power on both sides. In the last chapters the thesis deals with the intervention of the international community, whether their pressure on Russia will be still intense and if in the future...