An Anxious Border: De-facto Spectacles at the Frontier of the Republic of Abkhazia

ABSTRACT

This article explores the spatial border dynamics existing between the contemporary de-facto Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of Georgia. It focuses on the (un-) making of borders by exploring the material dynamics of contested statehood in a post-conflict situation. It does this by looking at how the “air of sovereignty” is reinforced through materiality, legal and illegal spectacles along the borderline.

I make three arguments. First that the spectacles on the Abkhazian side of the border are meant to present the narrative of sovereignty in order to quell an existential uncertainty that comes with the being a de-facto state. Second, that spectacles on the Georgian side of the border are meant to present a narrative of continuation of the 1992–1993 conflict, thus portraying Abkhazia as part of the Republic of Georgia. Last, both legal and illegal border crossings contribute to the air of sovereignty and legality of the border.

KEYWORDS:

• Abkhazia
• de-facto
• borders
• materiality
• spectacles
• sovereignty

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 At the time of writing (May 2020), the Republic of Abkhazia has been recognized by: The Russian Federation, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, and the Syrian Republic.

2 Due to the politically sensitive nature of the field, I would like to make some brief remarks regarding terminology. The choices made regarding terminology throughout this article are guided by pragmatic concerns only. They are informed by earlier works by both academics and international NGOs working in and on the region. So the choices made do not reflect any claims regarding the legal status of the Republic of Abkhazia. They are reflected primarily in the use of geographical names, as I use both variants of geographical names (the Georgian and Russian/Abkhaz versions generally differ in terms of a single letter only). The names Sukhum(i) and Gal(i) will be used for these two geographical spaces, using both the Abkhaz/Russian spelling (Sukhum) and the Georgian spelling (Sokhumi). The same applies to the usage of the terms ‘border/borderline’. The Georgian Republic and the majority of the international community refer to the line of division between Abkhazia and Georgia proper as the ‘Administrative Border Line’ (ABL) while the Abkhazian authorities use the term ‘state border’. This article will use the term ‘border’ as a neutral way of portraying the line of division between Georgia and Abkhazia.

3 Interview “Salome” (T) 2017.

4 Interview with the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM), October 2018.

5 Owing to the sensitive nature of the field site, and out of concern for the safety and integrity of informants and communities, all place names and personal names have been consistently anonymized.

6 Interview “Gvantsa” (T) 2018.

7 Interview “Mariam” (T) 2018.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the School of Culture and Society at Aarhus University and Oticon Fonden, Denmark.