{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/88134"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/88134","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Territorial integrity and identity within the Republic of Georgia: a comparative case study of Ajaria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia","abstract":"The presence of de-facto independent entities infringe on Georgia's traditional perception of its territorial integrity and importantly, inhibit the consolidation of its democracy. Imperative to an understanding of the Abkhazian and South Ossetian 'frozen conflicts' necessitates an understanding of regional histories, domestic politics, international involvement, territorial claims and the composition of ethnic identities. Further, examination of the reasons why the Autonomous Republic of Ajaria did not transition to a separatist region, as did Abkhazia and South Ossetia, provides a useful analytical marker from which one can discern the complexities of Georgia's situation. Using Barbara Walter's work regarding reputation building as a framework for examination of the political dimension of separatist conflicts as well as Monica Toft's work on the territorial aspect of conflict provides the theoretical anchor for this research. It is a result of differences on all analytical fronts that the current political status of Ajaria as an Autonomous Republic within the Republic of Georgia is ultimately subject and accountable to the Georgian government. Likewise, the de-facto independent condition of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia results from disparity regarding its history, geographic location, territorial resources and domestic politics. Currently, Georgia aims to join the security paradigm constructed by NATO and the United States, as well as reaping the benefits of eventual membership in the European Union. In response to a Georgian trajectory now oriented toward Europe, Russia is resolved to serve as the guarantor of Abkhazian and South Ossetian independence as well as their further integration into Russia's political sphere via the signing of substantive bi-lateral agreements. Thus, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are at the epicenter of the fight for regional hegemony and the balance of power in South Caucasus.","abstract_html":"The presence of de-facto independent entities infringe on Georgia's traditional perception of its territorial integrity and importantly, inhibit the consolidation of its democracy. Imperative to an understanding of the Abkhazian and South Ossetian 'frozen conflicts' necessitates an understanding of regional histories, domestic politics, international involvement, territorial claims and the composition of ethnic identities. Further, examination of the reasons why the Autonomous Republic of Ajaria did not transition to a separatist region, as did Abkhazia and South Ossetia, provides a useful analytical marker from which one can discern the complexities of Georgia's situation. Using Barbara Walter's work regarding reputation building as a framework for examination of the political dimension of separatist conflicts as well as Monica Toft's work on the territorial aspect of conflict provides the theoretical anchor for this research. It is a result of differences on all analytical fronts that the current political status of Ajaria as an Autonomous Republic within the Republic of Georgia is ultimately subject and accountable to the Georgian government. Likewise, the de-facto independent condition of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia results from disparity regarding its history, geographic location, territorial resources and domestic politics. Currently, Georgia aims to join the security paradigm constructed by NATO and the United States, as well as reaping the benefits of eventual membership in the European Union. In response to a Georgian trajectory now oriented toward Europe, Russia is resolved to serve as the guarantor of Abkhazian and South Ossetian independence as well as their further integration into Russia's political sphere via the signing of substantive bi-lateral agreements. Thus, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are at the epicenter of the fight for regional hegemony and the balance of power in South Caucasus.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Butterworth, Kathryn"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Skalnik Leff, Carol"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-09-29T20:49:24Z","date_published":"2015-09-29T20:49:24Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:26:31Z","subjects":["Abkhazia","Ajaria","South Ossetia","Georgia","Conflict"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright 2015 Kathryn Butterworth"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2142/88134","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Skalnik Leff, Carol"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Butterworth, Kathryn"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2015-09-29T20:49:24Z","2017-09-30T09:15:35Z","2015-08","2015-05-21","2015-8"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Abkhazia","Ajaria","South Ossetia","Georgia","Conflict"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2015 Kathryn Butterworth"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/88134"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The presence of de-facto independent entities infringe on Georgia's traditional perception of its territorial integrity and importantly, inhibit the consolidation of its democracy. Imperative to an understanding of the Abkhazian and South Ossetian 'frozen conflicts' necessitates an understanding of regional histories, domestic politics, international involvement, territorial claims and the composition of ethnic identities. Further, examination of the reasons why the Autonomous Republic of Ajaria did not transition to a separatist region, as did Abkhazia and South Ossetia, provides a useful analytical marker from which one can discern the complexities of Georgia's situation. Using Barbara Walter's work regarding reputation building as a framework for examination of the political dimension of separatist conflicts as well as Monica Toft's work on the territorial aspect of conflict provides the theoretical anchor for this research. It is a result of differences on all analytical fronts that the current political status of Ajaria as an Autonomous Republic within the Republic of Georgia is ultimately subject and accountable to the Georgian government. Likewise, the de-facto independent condition of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia results from disparity regarding its history, geographic location, territorial resources and domestic politics. Currently, Georgia aims to join the security paradigm constructed by NATO and the United States, as well as reaping the benefits of eventual membership in the European Union. In response to a Georgian trajectory now oriented toward Europe, Russia is resolved to serve as the guarantor of Abkhazian and South Ossetian independence as well as their further integration into Russia's political sphere via the signing of substantive bi-lateral agreements. Thus, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are at the epicenter of the fight for regional hegemony and the balance of power in South Caucasus.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I only', the embargo will last until 2017-08-01","The student, Kathryn Butterworth, accepted the attached license on 2015-05-08 at 12:39.","The student, Kathryn Butterworth, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2015-05-08 at 12:48.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2015-05-21 at 14:39.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #8241 on 2015-09-29 at 14:58:25","Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-29T20:49:24Z (GMT). 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Imperative to an understanding of the Abkhazian and South Ossetian 'frozen conflicts' necessitates an understanding of regional histories, domestic politics, international involvement, territorial claims and the composition of ethnic identities. Further, examination of the reasons why the Autonomous Republic of Ajaria did not transition to a separatist region, as did Abkhazia and South Ossetia, provides a useful analytical marker from which one can discern the complexities of Georgia's situation. Using Barbara Walter's work regarding reputation building as a framework for examination of the political dimension of separatist conflicts as well as Monica Toft's work on the territorial aspect of conflict provides the theoretical anchor for this research. It is a result of differences on all analytical fronts that the current political status of Ajaria as an Autonomous Republic within the Republic of Georgia is ultimately subject and accountable to the Georgian government. Likewise, the de-facto independent condition of both Abkhazia and South Ossetia results from disparity regarding its history, geographic location, territorial resources and domestic politics. Currently, Georgia aims to join the security paradigm constructed by NATO and the United States, as well as reaping the benefits of eventual membership in the European Union. In response to a Georgian trajectory now oriented toward Europe, Russia is resolved to serve as the guarantor of Abkhazian and South Ossetian independence as well as their further integration into Russia's political sphere via the signing of substantive bi-lateral agreements. Thus, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are at the epicenter of the fight for regional hegemony and the balance of power in South Caucasus.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I only', the embargo will last until 2017-08-01","The student, Kathryn Butterworth, accepted the attached license on 2015-05-08 at 12:39.","The student, Kathryn Butterworth, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2015-05-08 at 12:48.","This Thesis was approved for publication on 2015-05-21 at 14:39.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #8241 on 2015-09-29 at 14:58:25","Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-29T20:49:24Z (GMT). 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