Gatekhili Mountains, gatekhili State: Fractured Alpine Forest Governance and Post-Soviet Development in the Republic of Georgia

While many states at the periphery of the former Soviet Union have pursued decentralization in nearly all areas of governance, this trend is perhaps most notable in natural resource sectors and the effects these reforms have on society. I explore these scalar political, economic, and environmental c...

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Main Author: Jesse Quinn
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institut de Géographie Alpine
Series:Revue de Géographie Alpine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/rga/3619
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author Jesse Quinn
author_facet Jesse Quinn
author_sort Jesse Quinn
collection DOAJ
description While many states at the periphery of the former Soviet Union have pursued decentralization in nearly all areas of governance, this trend is perhaps most notable in natural resource sectors and the effects these reforms have on society. I explore these scalar political, economic, and environmental connections through a qualitative case study of alpine forest governance in the mountains of Georgia. Analyzing a series of thirty-five semi-structured interviews conducted during the summers of 2012 and 2013, I investigate the ways in which state power operates through governance of Georgia’s alpine forests. Like all democracies, the Georgian government oscillates between poles of centralization and decentralization. However, the practices of the Georgian government, as it currently exists through alpine forestry, produces a distinctly fractured (gatekhili in Georgian) form of democracy. The dynamics of the emerging Georgian state as seen through alpine forest governance are informative for understanding the political transition of mountainous post-Soviet states in the 21st century, and contemporary state formation more generally.
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spelling doaj.art-e653fd4e2ffa4077a85bd32f98e37a3f2024-02-14T15:01:26ZengInstitut de Géographie AlpineRevue de Géographie Alpine0035-11211760-7426105110.4000/rga.3619Gatekhili Mountains, gatekhili State: Fractured Alpine Forest Governance and Post-Soviet Development in the Republic of GeorgiaJesse QuinnWhile many states at the periphery of the former Soviet Union have pursued decentralization in nearly all areas of governance, this trend is perhaps most notable in natural resource sectors and the effects these reforms have on society. I explore these scalar political, economic, and environmental connections through a qualitative case study of alpine forest governance in the mountains of Georgia. Analyzing a series of thirty-five semi-structured interviews conducted during the summers of 2012 and 2013, I investigate the ways in which state power operates through governance of Georgia’s alpine forests. Like all democracies, the Georgian government oscillates between poles of centralization and decentralization. However, the practices of the Georgian government, as it currently exists through alpine forestry, produces a distinctly fractured (gatekhili in Georgian) form of democracy. The dynamics of the emerging Georgian state as seen through alpine forest governance are informative for understanding the political transition of mountainous post-Soviet states in the 21st century, and contemporary state formation more generally.https://journals.openedition.org/rga/3619Post-Soviet DevelopmentForestStateGovernanceGeorgia
spellingShingle Jesse Quinn
Gatekhili Mountains, gatekhili State: Fractured Alpine Forest Governance and Post-Soviet Development in the Republic of Georgia
Revue de Géographie Alpine
Post-Soviet Development
Forest
State
Governance
Georgia
title Gatekhili Mountains, gatekhili State: Fractured Alpine Forest Governance and Post-Soviet Development in the Republic of Georgia
title_full Gatekhili Mountains, gatekhili State: Fractured Alpine Forest Governance and Post-Soviet Development in the Republic of Georgia
title_fullStr Gatekhili Mountains, gatekhili State: Fractured Alpine Forest Governance and Post-Soviet Development in the Republic of Georgia
title_full_unstemmed Gatekhili Mountains, gatekhili State: Fractured Alpine Forest Governance and Post-Soviet Development in the Republic of Georgia
title_short Gatekhili Mountains, gatekhili State: Fractured Alpine Forest Governance and Post-Soviet Development in the Republic of Georgia
title_sort gatekhili mountains gatekhili state fractured alpine forest governance and post soviet development in the republic of georgia
topic Post-Soviet Development
Forest
State
Governance
Georgia
url https://journals.openedition.org/rga/3619
work_keys_str_mv AT jessequinn gatekhilimountainsgatekhilistatefracturedalpineforestgovernanceandpostsovietdevelopmentintherepublicofgeorgia