PSIA Publication: A Conflict That Did not Happen: Revisiting the Javakhk Affair in Georgia

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The American University of Armenia (AUA) is pleased to announce the recent publication of the article “A Conflict That Did Not Happen: Revisiting the Javakhk Affair in Georgia” in Nations and Nationalism, a peer-reviewed journal published by the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism (ASEN). The article is authored by Vahram Ter-Matevosyan, Chair of the Political Science and International Affairs Program (PSIA) and Brent Currie (PSIA ’17). The research looks at how the Armenian populated Javakhk (Javakheti) has avoided conflicts after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The article discusses how, unlike the Abkhazian and South Ossetian movements that were able to effectively mobilize against Georgian calls for sovereignty leading up to the Soviet collapse, the Armenian populated territories in Georgia remained relatively calm. Theories of nationalism and ethnic conflicts are used as foundation for the analysis of field interviews with the leaders of the popular movements in Javakhk and for explaining the underlying reasons for the absence of conflict there.

The research was funded by the Institute of Armenian Studies, University of Southern California, in the framework of the project ‘End of Transition: A Quarter Century after the Soviet Collapse.’

The abstract to the article can be accessed here.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.