러시아ㆍ유라시아

The Georgian-Russian war in August 2008 was caused by ethnic tensions in Georgia. The tensions originated from centuries old ethnic hatred between Georgia and pro-Russian secessionist Republics including Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The Georgian ethnic problems can be explained by the following factors: Georgian nationalism based upon primordialistic approach on ethnic identity, the policy of indigenization in the Soviet Union to provide titular nationalities with unproportionate benefits, problems in linguistic communication among ethnic minorities due to the rugged Caucasian mountains and ethnic hatred following frequent changes in the ethno-demographic composition. Three completely different and confusing approaches such as official approaches, academic approaches, and popular approaches, however, are identified to deal with the inter-ethnic conflicts in Georgia. Thus, a fundamental re-examination of those approaches to conceiving ethnic diversity is suggested to implement consistent policies on the nationality issues in Georgia.