ethnicity, Abkhazia, de facto states, ambiguity, Megrelians, minorities

The 1992–1993 war between Georgian and Abkhaz forces led to the long-term displacement of the majority of Georgians from Abkhazia. Despite this, many returned to Abkhazia's Gali region where Megrelians—widely considered to be a Georgian sub-ethnic group—continue to comprise the vast majority. This chapter explores how Gali Megrelians negotiated their identity in the post-war context of a consolidating Abkhazian de facto state that prioritized safeguarding the Abkhaz ethnos against a perceived Georgian threat. Drawing on ethnographic data collected during fieldwork in Abkhazia between 2016 and 2019, it suggests that Megrelians in Abkhazia benefited from a degree of ethnic ambiguity. Were they part of the Georgian nation, a distinct ethnicity, or even Abkhazians who had undergone assimilation? Yet while it was this ambiguity that enabled Megrelians to navigate their precarious position in the post-war order, it simultaneously reinforced perceptions of them as unreliable—a view that perpetuated the insecurity such ambiguity was meant to alleviate.

The 1992–1993 war between Georgian and Abkhaz forces led to the long-term displacement of the majority of Georgians from Abkhazia. Despite this, many returned to Abkhazia's Gali region where Megrelians—widely considered to be a Georgian sub-ethnic group—continue to comprise the vast majority. This chapter explores how Gali Megrelians negotiated their identity in the post-war context of a consolidating Abkhazian de facto state that prioritized safeguarding the Abkhaz ethnos against a perceived Georgian threat. Drawing on ethnographic data collected during fieldwork in Abkhazia between 2016 and 2019, it suggests that Megrelians in Abkhazia benefited from a degree of ethnic ambiguity. Were they part of the Georgian nation, a distinct ethnicity, or even Abkhazians who had undergone assimilation? Yet while it was this ambiguity that enabled Megrelians to navigate their precarious position in the post-war order, it simultaneously reinforced perceptions of them as unreliable—a view that perpetuated the insecurity such ambiguity was meant to alleviate.