Suddenly a Border: Hazelnut Trade across the De Facto Border between Abkhazia and the Zugdidi Municipal Region of Georgia

After the Georgia-Abkhaz conflict that began in 1991, a new border appeared on the Enguri River, where the border of the Autonomous Region of Abkhazia was previously located. This separated the markets in Zugdidi town from the hinterland, where hazelnuts and other agricultural products were produced. In the 2.5 decades since, the variable border regime has created conditions where those who purchase the nuts from producers have had to use a variety of informal means to cope with a difficult and variable border crossing. Those moving these products across the border have had to face a wide variety of changing conditions, including hostilities between Russia/Abkhazia and Georgia, the quality of the annual seasonal harvest, the changing power of criminal groups that prey on cross-border trade, and the work of different institutions, including the border control, municipal authorities, and international groups that engage in mediating activities. This paper focuses on the dynamics of how trade interacts with formal institutions, including borders. The research is based on fieldwork in this region, with observations and interviews of the participants in the aspects of these processes that occur on the Georgian side of the border since 2012

India-Georgia Relationship: A Window of Opportunity

India and Georgia, representing two ancient surviving civilizations in the world, are not located far away from within Asia. The two nations had deep linkages in the past; however, they mostly remained disconnected over the past few centuries for various reasons. In recent years, they are experiencing a steady rise in people-to-people engagement, especially in trade. Considering the changing global geopolitical realities and increasing avenues of Europe-Asia trade, India urgently needs to revive and rebuild its historic ties with Georgia to meet its national interests in the 21st century. Georgia could be a ‘Gateway to Europe’ for India

Factors of Participatory Urban Policy: Urban Activism through the prism of Post-materialistic Theory

Article “Factors of Participatory Urban Policy: Urban activism through the prism of Post-materialistic Theory”, through the prism of Post-materialistic theory analyses data’s of Georgia accumulated during the 5th and 6th waves of World Value Survey (WVS) and studies how materialistic values of the societies are changing and becoming post-materialistic. The main focus is on public participation in city government and especially on urban activism. As, in Georgian reality, green activism is the main form of activism, article questions either it is the reaction on numbers of ecological and urban problems that appeared in Tbilisi during last 10 years,  or still it is a sign of shifting materialistic Georgian society into the side of post-materialistic values.

Chapter 1 Dynamics of Bordering in the Post-Soviet Space over the Last 30 years

The disintegration of the Soviet Union changed the status of the borders of its republics: internal administrative borders became international ones that were redefined by treaties between the successor republics, and the former external borders of the Union were similarly redefined. This article shows how these negotiations and further bordering developed differently in the regions of the Baltic States, the western post-Soviet states, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Various influencing factors played out differently: previous social, cultural, and political orders; nation-building efforts; economic and structural linkages; and competing regional and international political projects. Peace has prevailed around most of the borders, and the population has created ways to maintain social relations. However, starting with the conflicts in the Caucasus in the early 1990s, unresolved conflicts over borders of the successor republics have increased

Doppler shift oscillations in solar spicules

Consecutive height series of Ha spectra in solar limb spicules taken on the 53 cm coronagraph of Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory at the heights of 3800-8700 km above the photosphere have been analyzed. The aim is to observe oscillatory phenomena in spicules and consequently to trace wave propagations through the chromosphere. The Discrete Fourier Transform analysis of Ha Doppler shift time series constructed from the observed spectra at each height is used. Doppler velocities of solar limb spicules show oscillations with periods of 20-55 and 75-110 s. There is also the clear evidence of 3-min oscillations at the observed heights. The oscillations can be caused by wave propagations in thin magnetic flux tubes anchored in the photosphere. We suggest the granulation as a possible source for the wave excitation. Observed waves can be used as a tool for spicule seismology; the magnetic field strength in spicules at the height of about 6000 km above the photosphere is estimated as 12-15 G.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures, accepted in A&