The stigmatization of Abkhazia: Georgia's discursive construction of conflict and self

Abstract

This thesis examines how the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict has been discursively constructed in the Georgian official diplomatic discourse and how stigmatization sustains asymmetric power relations in a protracted conflict. Drawing on Critical Discourse Analysis of speeches delivered by Georgian representatives at the United Nations General Assembly between 1992 and 2022, it analyzes how Georgia represents Abkhazia, the conflict, and its own identity before international audiences. The analysis shows that in an international system that privileges territorial integrity and state sovereignty, Abkhazia is positioned as a deviant actor in international politics. Through the practices of labeling, stereotyping, separation, and discrimination, Georgia systemically stigmatizes Abkhazia and consistently denies its political agency, while it positions itself as a peace-seeking, law-abiding, and democratic state. Following the 2008 war, the reframing of the conflict as Russian occupation further entrenched Abkhazia’s marginalization within a broader geopolitical narrative. The analysis further demonstrates that Georgia’s stigmatization of Abkhazia is inseparable from its own state-building project and efforts at self-positioning within the international hierarchy. Georgian discourse reflects efforts to manage its own ambivalent status in the international system while externalizing responsibility for the unresolved conflict and reinforcing a self-serving attribution pattern.