Issue 4/2020 The Kremlin’s Hybrid War. The case of Georgia

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The case of Georgia offers not only insight into how hybrid war can be waged, but also valuable lessons on how to mount a stronger defence. As societies and democracies around the world are faced with greater threats from home and abroad, there is a need for building a stronger social resilience. Our authors, who have first-hand experience and an every day encounter with hybrid tactics, highlight the many dimensions, which have only been amplified by the pandemic. 

On that note, this issue also brings together expert voices to give some analysis and insight on how COVID-19 might shift geopolitics in our region. We are particularly interested in understanding the impact on relations with the Eastern Partnership and Russia – countries which have been hit hard not only by the virus but the economic consequences as well.

Such circumstances often reveal the role of other, non-political and non-economic factors, in the shaping of our collective behaviours and values. Among them is culture, which is discussed in the context of COVID-19 by a Polish poet and literary critic, Jakub Kornhauser, who in a conversation with Grzegorz Nurek states “Looking at the history of art and its development, we see that all large moments of turmoil became a driving force for new artistic movements, trends and ideas.”

Sharing this belief, we remain alert to all cultural and intellectual ferments that are taking place in the region today with an aim to share these stories with you in our next issues this year and beyond.

CONTENTS

The Kremlin’s Hybrid War. The case of Georgia

The many dimensions of hybrid warfare Emil Avdaliani
How Russian propaganda works in Georgia Grigol Julukhidze
Borderisation. The Kremlin’s unending war Egor Kuroptev
Religion as a powerful foreign policy tool Giorgi Jokhadze
The Kremlin’s fake news machine swirl COVID-19 conspiracies Tornike Zurabashvili
Far-right radicalisation and Russian soft power Ucha Nanuashvili
Understanding the silent war Lasha Pataraia
The South Caucasus conundrum in the Black Sea Victor Kipiani

Geopolitics and coronavirus. A survey of experts

COVID-19 not to spare Eastern Europe from great power competition Alena Kudzko
Post-COVID-19 Eastern Europe: Equation with many unknowns Wojciech Konończuk
Gone with the virus. How the pandemic makes Russian strategy evanescent Andrey Makarychev
Bracing for impact. Shifting geopolitics in the South Caucasus Richard Giragosian
The Eastern Partnership and Russia in the post-COVID world Karina Shyrokykh
Eastern Partnership in times of coronavirus Péter Stepper
Georgia and COVID-19. The miracle of social and institutional resilience Beata Górka-Winter

Opinion and Analysis

Zelenskyy’s populist learning curve Anna Korbut
Babyn Yar. When will the tragedy be finally commemorated? Svitlana
Oslavska
A reality check for the realists Matt Johnson
Ukraine as a key to Europe’s energy security. Towards a US-Polish-Ukrainian LNG trading platform Mykola Voytiv
The meaning behind Azerbaijan’s forged elections Mateusz Bajek
Corona in Kazakhstan. An authoritarian transparency offensive Othmara Glas
Great power competition returns to Central Asia Natalia Konarzewska
Bosnia’s others Anastasiya Ilyina

Interviews

The memory and experience of 1980 An interview with Cezary Obracht-Prądzyński
Siberia is a feeling to me A conversation with Sophy Roberts

Art, Culture and Society

The COVID-19 crisis is generating far-reaching outcomes for culture An interview with Jakub Kornhauser
Incident. Or three short essays on solidarity Mykola Riabchuk

Stories and Ideas

A Jan of all trades Marta Gruszecka
Volcanic vintage. The historic Hungarian wines of Lake Balaton Eric Bryan

History and Memory

From the Great Patriotic War to the Second World War. The decommunisation of Ukraine’s memory politics Serhiy Riabenko and Taras Kuzio
The brief alliance, short memory Grzegorz Szymborski

EASTERN CAFÉ

The story of liberalism’s fall from grace Millie Radović
We are in fact writing about the present… Łukasz Jasina
An alternative guide to Northern Kosovo Magdalena Rekść
A deltiology of memory Kinga Anna Gajda

The series on hybrid warfare is co-financed in part through co-operation with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tbilisi which is serving as the Embassy-Contact Point of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO Contact Point Embassy).

The expert survey on “geopolitics and coronavirus” is co-financed through an agreement with the Eastern Europe Department at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.