Nation-building, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, De facto statehood

The chapter focuses on the two de facto states which separated from Georgia – Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The authors give an insight into the complex development of Ossetian-Georgian and Abkhazian-Georgian relations, which in the early 1990s led to the escalation of conflict in both separatist regions. Utilising the logic of the previous chapter, they identify and analyse the factors which ultimately led to the birth of these two de facto states.