Citizenship, Identity and Foreign Policy: The Contradictions and Consequences of Russia's Passport Distribution in the Separatist Regions of Georgia

摘要

This article examines the role of Russian passports and citizenship in facilitating Abkhazian and South Ossetian separatism in Georgia. It questions Russian leaders' justification of the country's intervention in the August 2008 South Ossetian crisis on the basis of defending co-nationals' human rights, noting the tenuous circumstances under which citizenship was granted and Russian policymakers' general disregard for human rights among non-ethnic russkii groups both domestically and abroad. The rationale for Russian state actions is placed within the desire for geostrategic gain in the former Soviet Union and the restoration of civic national pride.