Abkhazia: A Summary of Ethnic Conflict

The conventional explanations of the Abkhazian independence war against the Republic of Georgia dwell on the combination of local ancient hatreds and Moscow’s secret meddling. This explanation is both incorrect and politically harmful. After all, what can be done if the hatreds are so ancient, and Russia, as any state faced with similar problems, might be surely predicted to stay “meddling” in its Caucasus underbelly? To reframe these inherently pessimistic assumptions, let us revisit the typical arguments or “facts” one hears from the participants in the Abkhazia conflict. It is by no means a pedantic exercise. Abkhazia’s troubles are structurally similar to other smoldering separatist conflicts all over the Caucasus and the Balkans. By getting the record straight with Abkhazia, we may gain an analytical summary of Karabagh, Chechnya, or Kosovo as well.