Accepting Alien Rule? State-Building Nationalism in Georgia's Azeri Borderland

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, new border demarcations left various minority groups displaced within "alien" states that did not share their ethnicity or culture. In effect, these minority groups became unwillingly placed under alien rule. This lecture focuses on the question of under what circumstances minority groups within a state come to accept the rule of an alien state. This comes within the context of minority groups that are left "beached" within an alien state following the re-drawing of border lines.

This lecture used the example of ethnic Azeris left stranded within Georgia's Marneuli, Bolnisi, and Dmanisi districts, located across the border from Azerbaijan. Following extensive interview research, this talk discussed why minority groups may react differently to their situation. By examining changing policies within Georgia to minority Azeri groups this talk detailed further conclusions on the relationship between alien policy and alien rule in post-Soviet Eurasia. What circumstances are necessary for a group to accept to alien rule? What mechanisms ensure this throughout the post-Soviet states?

Christofer Berglund - Assistant Professor at the Department of Global Political Studies, Malmö University. He is affiliated with the Russia and the Caucasus Regional Research within Malmö University. His fields of specialization includes ethnic conflict and strategic studies within post-Soviet Eurasia.

Working language is English.