International engagement in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict resolution process

This collection of papers by researchers from Georgia and Abkhazia offers an analysis of international engagement in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict resolution process since the early 1990s, with a specific focus on post-August 2008 and the departure of the UN Observer Mission in 2009.

This collection is the second in a series of ‘dialogue through research’ produced by Georgian and Abkhaz researchers, in an attempt to shed new light on the conflict and stimulate a different way of thinking about conflict-related issues. The first paper, on which work began prior to the August 2008 conflict and was published in September 2009, was entitled Dialogue on Security Guarantees in the Context of the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict and considered the separate analyses of both Georgian and Abkhaz civil society experts on the need for security guarantees, the reasons why the sides have been unable to agree on them as well as barriers and opportunities for future agreements.

The theme behind this second paper was chosen by researchers at a meeting in Paris in July 2009, only two weeks after Russia had vetoed the extension of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) mandate. This prompted a lively discussion on the potential consequences of the departure of UNOMIG, especially in the context of the already ongoing debate on the isolation of Abkhazia, and Abkhazia’s increasing economic and political ties with Russia since Russian recognition of Abkhazia’s independence in August 2008.