Myself and the Other: Competitive Narratives of Georgians and Abkhazians

Abstract

Abstract:This article is a case study framing the issue of alienation and othering between Georgians and Abkhazians. The underlying assumption is that a possible solution of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict can be based on identity research. At this point, the theoretical framework of identity studies merges with the methodological standpoint of discourse analysis, with identity presented through the "winning" discourse, being a result of a competition of different flows, including the Golden Age of independence, imperial Russian and Soviet past, experience of the 1990s, religion, traditions, and so on. Respondents of the study are Georgians and Abkhazians active in thematic groups in social networks. Asking them about their self-perception and perception of "the other," we are facing narratives of an imaginary nature based on reconstruction and over-construction of the past. This suggests that we look for a possible solution of the conflict through direct negotiations between the parties, starting from a "zero" point of current interests. A supplementary finding, which gives space for optimism, indicates the low level of hate in our respondents' narratives toward each other, although these narratives are still highly emotional.