Georgia’s Strategic Dilemmas: Russian Leverage and Secessionist Conflicts

Abstract

This study examines Georgia’s strategic vulnerabilities with focus on frozen and latent conflicts, specially delimiting its scope to Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Samtskhe Javakheti, and Adjara. Georgia’s post-soviet security environment has been shaped by Russian influence through military occupation, passportization, and disinformation, which continue to obstruct Euro-Atlantic integration. Using a qualitative approach, the paper synthesizes historical events and academic literature to analyze the interconnection of explicit frozen conflicts and implicit socio-political vulnerabilities. Findings show that Russian hybrid strategies expand the frozen conflict theory by exploiting governance frailties, minority grievances, and socio-economic disadvantages, thereby sustaining structural control. Results further reveal that Georgia’s strategic resilience depends on mitigating both visible and latent vulnerabilities. The study recommends multi-layered policy solutions, including institutional strengthening, minority inclusion, socio-economic development, and counter- hybrid strategies, to safeguard sovereignty and enhance integration prospects.