South Ossetia Today

{
  "authors": [
    "Thomas de Waal"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie Europe"
  ],
  "collections": [
    "Europe’s Eastern Neighborhood"
  ],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Europe",
  "programAffiliation": "EP",
  "programs": [
    "Europe"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Russia",
    "Eastern Europe",
    "Caucasus",
    "Georgia",
    "Iran"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Security"
  ]
}

Other

Carnegie Europe

South Ossetia Today

South Ossetia has all but disappeared from international view since the Georgia-Russia conflict of 2008 and is now being used by Moscow to pressure Tbilisi and channel funds to the breakaway Donbas regions.

By Thomas de Waal

Published on Jun 11, 2019

Source: CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN POLICY STUDIES

The modern history of South Ossetia is a tragic one in which a generally peaceful region was first dragged into an unnecessary war with Georgia in the 1990s, then became the centre of the Georgian-Russian conflict of 2008. Since then it has been granted what has been described as “unwanted independence,” which in practice means isolation, economic depression and de facto Russian military annexation. On a personal level, this isolation hurts Ossetians as much or even more than Georgians. Many mixed Georgian-Ossetian families have been divided. The South Ossetian economy has withered, deprived of its traditional economic links with neighbouring Georgian towns.

Read Full Text

This publication was prepared within the framework of the CEPS-led 3DCFTAs project, enabled by financial support from Sweden. To download the publication, please consult the following link.

About the Author

Thomas de Waal

Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe

Thomas de Waal is a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.

Recent Work

Commentary
A Black Sea Truce Is About Global Food Security, Too
- Thomas de Waal
Article
Managing Montreux: Turkey and the Russia-Ukraine War in the Black Sea
- Thomas de Waal

Security Russia Eastern Europe Caucasus Georgia Iran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

Article
Turkey’s Four Headaches Are Also Europe’s
Between stalled economic ties and a push for greater security cooperation, EU-Turkey relations remain uncertain. Ankara’s continued slide toward autocracy is the likeliest common denominator in these competing dynamics.
Marc Pierini
Research
Planetary Power: Geoengineering and the New Geopolitics of Climate Intervention
Geoengineering is becoming a geopolitical question as much as a climate one. The way states and the private sector pursue these technologies, assess risks, and drive research increasingly appears focused on gaining a strategic edge. In a field where governance in lagging behind, Europe should keep track of the geopolitical implications if it is to develop effective regulatory frameworks.
Olivia Lazard, ed.
Commentary
Strategic Europe
Europe Needs its own Sanctions-Enforcement Muscle
The EU can impose sanctions but struggles to enforce them without the United States. With Washington increasingly disinterested in backing European interests, the bloc must now fend for itself.
Nicu Popescu, Tiago Antunes
Commentary
Strategic Europe
Containing Escalation in the Black Sea
Russia is testing the waters of NATO’s mutual defense clause. What do strikes in Romanian territorial waters mean for the alliance’s posture toward Moscow?
Dimitar Bechev
Commentary
Strategic Europe
Taking the Pulse: Does the EU Have a France Problem?
With its public finances in shambles, the far right polling at 35 percent ahead of the 2027 presidential election, and a growing protest movement, is France’s crisis a threat to the EU’s geopolitical awakening?
Rym Momtaz, ed.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

Article

Turkey’s Four Headaches Are Also Europe’s

Between stalled economic ties and a push for greater security cooperation, EU-Turkey relations remain uncertain. Ankara’s continued slide toward autocracy is the likeliest common denominator in these competing dynamics.

Marc Pierini

Research

Planetary Power: Geoengineering and the New Geopolitics of Climate Intervention

Geoengineering is becoming a geopolitical question as much as a climate one. The way states and the private sector pursue these technologies, assess risks, and drive research increasingly appears focused on gaining a strategic edge. In a field where governance in lagging behind, Europe should keep track of the geopolitical implications if it is to develop effective regulatory frameworks.

Olivia Lazard, ed.

Commentary

Strategic Europe

Europe Needs its own Sanctions-Enforcement Muscle

The EU can impose sanctions but struggles to enforce them without the United States. With Washington increasingly disinterested in backing European interests, the bloc must now fend for itself.

Nicu Popescu, Tiago Antunes

Commentary

Strategic Europe

Containing Escalation in the Black Sea

Russia is testing the waters of NATO’s mutual defense clause. What do strikes in Romanian territorial waters mean for the alliance’s posture toward Moscow?

Dimitar Bechev

Commentary

Strategic Europe

Taking the Pulse: Does the EU Have a France Problem?

With its public finances in shambles, the far right polling at 35 percent ahead of the 2027 presidential election, and a growing protest movement, is France’s crisis a threat to the EU’s geopolitical awakening?

Rym Momtaz, ed.