Articles & Policy Papers by David Matsaberidze
Security Science Journal, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2023
The paper explores competitive securitizations of the Russian Federation vs. the European Union i... more The paper explores competitive securitizations of the Russian Federation vs. the European Union in the Georgian political public sphere through deconstruction of the pro-Western and pro-Russian public political narratives. The dis-information incursion and propaganda of the Russian Federation in the societal landscape of Georgia have become the primary tools of the Kremlin to undermine the soft-power policy the EU and the pro-Western agenda. The study reflects on the rotating political discourses on Russia vs. EU through narrative analysis and deconstructs those metanarratives, that securitize the pro-Western and pro-Russian foreign policy discourses and contribute to fragmentation of the political public sphere. The paper reflects on three interrelated clusters-politics, media and civil societyinfluenced by the pro-Russian strategic narratives tailored across 'communities of grievances' to counteract the Western liberal and normative-based agenda. Alternatively, the pro-Western narrative evolves around liberal conceptions, that tries to transform the post-Soviet Georgian society through 'mental revolution.' The political discourse analysis-understanding and interpreting meanings-refers to the public speeches of elites and policy documents for 189 deconstruction of narrative structures, as their causal explanations provide insights into the ambiguous and contradictory representations of Russia and the West/EU in the securitized political public sphere in Georgia.
Proceedings of the 25th Workshop of the PfP Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes’ Study Group: Regional Stability in the South Caucasus – Discussing a South Caucasus Short of Russian Dominance. Republic of Austria & Germany. N17, 2023
Connections Quarterly Journal, 2023
This article analyzes the shaping and transformation of the post-Soviet security thinking of Geor... more This article analyzes the shaping and transformation of the post-Soviet security thinking of Georgia and Ukraine in the context of the post-Soviet Russian foreign policy in the near abroad, often designated as a legitimate sphere of Russian influence, and the competition between Russia and the EU and the US in the region. After the Rose Revolution of Georgia and the Orange Revolution of Ukraine, these two countries' independent/pro-Western orientation became the main issues securitized by the Russian Federation. Correspondingly, the preservation of territorial integrity became the top security issue for Georgia (since the early 1990s), and it became so for Ukraine after the Crimean occupation (March 2014) and the renewed armed hostilities across the entirety of Ukraine since February 2022. The changes in the internal politics of these countries were transposed into the international competition between Russia and the EU/US, expressed through the clash of "Sovereign Democracy" and "Color Revolution" paradigms for the future of post-Soviet states in the 2010s and transformed into active military measures in Ukraine since 2020s and through the so-called creeping annexation of Georgia since 2010s. Practically, these are the tools of maintaining the Russian influence on the one hand and opposing the Western values and power influence, supported firstly by the European Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership projects and secondly by granting candidate status to Ukraine in 2022. Russia's military actions against Georgia (2008) and Ukraine (2014-2023), a response to the soft power applied by the West, aimed at the creation of buffer zones in the shape of "frozen conflicts," which could be used as indirect leverage in the hands of the Russian Federation to block the Western aspirations of Georgia and Ukraine.
Maneuvering Increased Vulnerability and Polarization in the Caucasus – Corridors Proceedings, (Ed). Sebastian Relitz. Berlin, 2022
sebastian relitz-introduction maneuvering increased vulnerability and polarization in the caucasu... more sebastian relitz-introduction maneuvering increased vulnerability and polarization in the caucasus 16 17 maneuvering increased vulnerability and polarization in the caucasus sebastian relitz-introduction 18 19 paata alaverdashvili guidelines for trauma sensitivity in peacebuilding and community work 20 21 paata alaverdashvili guidelines for trauma sensitivity in peacebuilding and community work paata alaverdashvili guidelines for trauma sensitivity in peacebuilding and community work 24 25 paata alaverdashvili guidelines for trauma sensitivity in peacebuilding and community work 26 27 paata alaverdashvili guidelines for trauma sensitivity in peacebuilding and community work 36 37 paata alaverdashvili guidelines for trauma sensitivity in peacebuilding and community work
Politics – The Scientific-Analytical Journal, 5, N 4, July-August, 2021
Scholars in the field of public servants focus on overviews of theories and models, descriptions ... more Scholars in the field of public servants focus on overviews of theories and models, descriptions of policy design and challenges, which stand in the field of public administration. In this point of view, we rarely meet the empirical assumptions and researches based on relevant
Georgian Association of Political Studies, 2021
With the establishment of the political science as a discipline of academic research Georgian sci... more With the establishment of the political science as a discipline of academic research Georgian scientists paid special attention to it at the end of the 19 th and the beginning of the 20 th century. The article deals with those-days political essays of press materials, ongoing debates among different political parties and translations of works dedicated to different aspects of the politics. The discussion of the above-mentioned materials reveals that in those days G eorgia, considering the existing circumstances in the country, comprehension of the concept of a nation and national ideas was of outmost importance. The different aspects of political ideologies should be particularly highlighted and a special attention should be paid to the analysis of international situation. The idea of creating first work on political science emerged (Giorgi Tsereteli, 1896). The above-mentioned points to the fact of emergence of political science in Georgia. This process was further intensified during the existence of the D emocratic Republic of G eorgia (1981-1921). A lthough, the imposition of the Soviet rule in Georgia hindered the process of formation of political science in G eorgia. The issue of political science was actively debated in the emigrant circles only.
Eastern Europe Regional Studies, N1, 2021
Bilban, Christoph (ed): Perspectives of Conflict Management in the South Caucasus.“ Proceedings of the workshop „Perspectives on Conflict Management in the South Caucasus“ from 22 to 23 October 2018, Vienna: Republic of Austria/Federal Ministry of Defence, 5/2021, pp. 23-42
Caucasus Social Science Review, 2018
The paper analyses prospects of popular perception and acceptance of the pro-European discourse i... more The paper analyses prospects of popular perception and acceptance of the pro-European discourse in Georgia under fragmented public sphere due to contradictions between the pro-Western and pro-Russian foreign policy and cultural orientations. The pro-Russian camp promotes the idea of orthodox unity, portraying Russia as the key to restoration of country's territorial integrity. The pro-Western camp, referring to the negative past experience of Georgia's relations with the Tsarist, Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia considers the Euro-Atlantic integration as a security guarantee of Georgia and a precondition of its return into the European family from cultural and political point of view. Analysing various public opinion polls, policy papers and comparing them with the Index of the Kremlin influence in Georgia, the study juxtaposes Russia's soft-power incursion vs. local responses through deconstructing the three main clusters of actions: politics, media and civil society. The study uncovers the extent to which soft-power policy of the EU could be gradually undermined through collision of historical-religious (Russian Orthodoxy) and cultural-value (liberal conception of the West) driven agendas in Georgia.
Black Sea-Caucasus Region: Risks and Opportunities - Economy, Energy and Security, TASAM, Istanbul, 2018
Emerging Importance of the Wider Black Sea Area Security, ‘Ion Conea’ Geopolitical Association/GeoPolitica Magazine, editor/coordinator Silviu Nate, Global Studies Center, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania, 2018
Russia and the Former Soviet Space, Instrumentalizing Security, Legitimizing Intervention, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017
Harnessing Regional Stability in the South Caucasus The Role and Prospects of Defence Institution Building in the Current Strategic Context, Sep 2017
The Eastern Partnership Under Strain - Time for a Rethink?, 2016
The paper looks into the debates on the re-assessment of the existing international security syst... more The paper looks into the debates on the re-assessment of the existing international security system emerging after the Ukrainian crisis. It argues that the West is in the process of re-comprehending the various challenges posed to the international [security] system by the soft and hard security mechanisms of the Russian Near Abroad Policy. By investigating the foreign policy, national security and defence policy documents of the Russian Federation, this paper seeks to unveil the existing gaps between the Russian and the Western security visions. The present study deconstructs the existing security approaches considered in the West by assessing the possible implications of the two security visions on the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries.
Integrity Textbook - Live and Work with Integrity, pp. 178-188, 2015
Connections: The Quarterly Journal, vol. 14, issue 2, pp. 77-86, Apr 2015
ECMI Working Paper N 83, Dec 2014
Proceedings of the Partnership for Peace [PfP] Consortium 9th Workshop of the Study Group “Regional Stability in the South Caucasus” - From Self-Defence to Regional Disarmament: Reducing Tensions and Stabilising the South Caucasus, edited by Frederic Labarre and Ernst M. Felberbauer, 2014
Disarmament and Confidence-Building in the South Caucasus 13
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Articles & Policy Papers by David Matsaberidze
The study concentrated on different research directions, which singificantly add to the existing knowledge on the formation process of the Georgian identity:
• The period of formation of identity building narratives was deconstructed in detail; to this end, the local, Georgian, as well as imperial contexts, were analyzed. This was a necessary starting point for the adequate and compex comprehension of identity building narratives;
• Georgian, Jewish, Armenian, Azerbaijani, as well as Abkhazian and Ossetian identity building narratives were uncovered through local newspapers and publicist essays. They were collected, systematized and analyzed. Biographic information of the authors of various narratives, whose names are either less familiar for the wider academic communities or who published their works under pseudonyms, were prepared and attached to the main text. The present study assembles various identity building narratives of ethnic minorities residing on the territory of Georgia and provides their comparative analysis;
• The mainstream identity narrative was reconstructed; various identity narrative texts were selected and prepared for publication;
• Some texts written and published in minority languages were translated into Georgian;
• Interrelations of various identity narrartives created in Georgia in the second half of the 19th and the begginning of the 20th century were comprehended. This led to uncovering inter-cultural links and connections, as well as shared experiences of various ethnic groups. The peculiarities of various ethnic and cultural identities were uncovered.
OPEN Annual Conference 2024 (Multiple Meetings). University of Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago. Aveiro, Portugal
Panel: Secession, Democracy and Nation-Building.
Host Academic Unit: Institute for International and European Studies, Ghent University, Belgium
Thematic Research Division: Research Concentration: Geopolitics & Strategy, within the framework of the ongoing research project: The Shared Neighbourhood between the EU and Russia: From Conflictual Towards Cooperative Orders?
Host Professor: Dr. Tim Haesebrouck. Assistant Professor / Institute for International and European Studies, Ghent University, Belgium.
Consortium Member Universities: Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University (Georgia); GIPA - Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (Georgia); Yerevan State University (Armenia); Eurasia International University (Armenia); Paris Lodron Universitat Sazlburg (Austria); Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje (North Macedonia);
Project Duration: 01/2024 – 12/2026
Role in the Project: Project Member, Co-author and Contributor from Georgia
Project Donor: EU Commission / Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) / Strand N2
Donor: Konrad Adenauer Foundation
Donor: Konrad Adenauer Foundation Moldova Program "Strengthening Research Capacities of Junior Professionals and Experts in the EaP Region (Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine)
Researcher on Case Study of Georgia with a book chapter: Going in Cycles: Populist Discourses in Post-Soviet Georgia: The Nation, State and People
Project is initiated and implemented by the Department of Political Science, University of Salzburg, supported by the Erasmus+ Program, Salzburg, Austria
Convention I. Media, the New Authoritarianism and Its Opposition
Convention II. We the People: Nationalism, Populism and the Precariousness of the Democratic Project
organized by the Transregional Center for Democratic Studies (The New School for Social Research – NSSR, New York) and the International Institute for the Study of Culture and Education at the University of Lower Silesia, Wroclaw, Poland