Academic Discussion Series (WiP)

Works-in-Progress (WiP) is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place at the new office of CRRC at Chkhikvadze St. 1. It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.

The purpose of the WiP series is to provide support and productive criticism to those researching and developing academic projects pertaining the Caucasus region.

If you would like to present at one of the W-i-P sessions, please contact: mariam.kobaladze@crrccenters.org

Despite the rich scholarship on Muslim realms of the Russian empire and Russian imperial politics towards Islam published in recent decades, only a few works have focused on the South Caucasus. This talk will specifically discuss the lives and trans-imperial…
In 1967, the Soviet People’s Ministry of Merchant Marine decided to decentralize the merchant fleet and give every coastal republic its own ministry and maritime infrastructure. This was the birth of a Soviet success story, as within less than 10…
The relations among the former union republics of the USSR is a main discussion topic in international relations, but this cannot not be understood without its history as a domestic relationship within the USSR. In this study, Mitsuru Hobara analyzes…
The piece argues that the creeping authoritarianism manifest today in the political, civic, media-information and arts-cultural spheres under Georgian Dream is also taking place in the academic sphere, albeit ‘under the radar’. This subtle shift is part of a general…
How has Freedom Square gone so spectacularly wrong? The message of Tbilisi’s main square seems to be that citizenship does not matter. The square conveys this through a bombastic central column; with Saint George on top, who on closer inspection…
The integration of the Muslim community of Georgia into the wider Georgian society is a topic that seems to have fallen off of many people’s radar after defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Yet it remains an important one…
Although the narrative of St George rescuing a princess from a dragon is one of the most popular legends from medieval Christian hagiography, the earliest stages of its creation and diffusion remain obscure. By the end of the 12th century,…
Turkey and Georgia are two neighboring countries in a volatile region. Both enjoy long-enduring partnerships and diplomatic relationships. Both have been describing one another with different names and terms according to their foreign policy preferences. This research focuses on the…