Orthodox Churches and the Transformation of the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict

Abstract

The concept of conflict transformation places considerable emphasis oncivil society, which – in its broader sense – includes church organizations.Representatives of churches have direct access to persons who are involvedin conflicts, and thus they have the potential to influence public opinion andthe ability to bring hostile parties together to engage in dialogue. The aimof this study is to identify the factors underlying the low level ofengagement in the peacebuilding process by Orthodox religiousinstitutions in Georgia and Abkhazia and which prevent these organizationsfrom exercising a positive influence over conflict transformation. The fieldresearch for the article was conducted via interviews with representatives ofAbkhazian and Georgian civil society, and this data is supplemented by thepublic declarations of church representatives with relevance to conflicttransformation. The incompatibility of the views held by the two churchcommunities (those of Georgia and Abkhazia) regarding the cause of theescalation of the conflict and the highly politicized nature of the respectivechurch organizations, both of which overtly support and contribute todomestic nationalist discourses in their respective societies, have beenidentified as the main factors limiting the peacebuilding potential of thechurches in the Georgian-Abkhaz peace process.