Georgia’s political elites search for new regional identity

What is it about?

We argue that Georgian elites were partially successful in their quest for foreign political identity change. Although they did not manage to entirely change the international perception about Georgia’s geographic belonging, the country has politically moved closer to Eastern Europe and is considered to be part of “Associated Trio” together with Ukraine and Moldova—and recently became an EU candidate. From a theoretical perspective, we argue that Georgia’s quest for foreign policy identity recalibration fits the constructivist paradigm of international relations well. It can be argued that Georgia’s political elites were partially driven by ideational factors and were ignorant of the balance of power in their external environment, which cost the country the lost wars and compromised territorial sovereignty.

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Why is it important?

This article explores Georgia’s pro-Western foreign policy through the lens of the theoretical model of misplacement. It seeks to answer two research questions: Why has Georgia chosen to abandon the South CaucasusFootnote1 region and the broader post-Soviet area, and how much has it succeeded in redefining its regional belonging in the eyes of powerful actors? We also examine who the primary drivers of Georgia’s misplacement policy are and what the implications of a misplacement policy are for the country.

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