Samenvatting

After the “Rose Revolution” in 2003, Georgia’s political elite announced its new policy direction to follow democratic and liberal beliefs norms, values and ideas. This has formed Georgia’s national identity, which, the country claims, has always been European. Georgia’s powerful neighbor country – Russia - never supported those changes and saw them as a threat to the Russian influence in the region.
The aim of this thesis is to analyze the impact of Georgia’s national identity reshaping process after the “Rose Revolution” in the relationships between Russia and the European Union, in terms of Georgia’s foreign policy and the perspective of social constructivism. The thesis will also analyze how Georgia’s newly proclaimed democracy is being implemented together with its sustainability and stability.
The first chapter is a brief introduction which is followed by the second chapter which includes the literature review. This includes an overview and analysis of the research, substantive findings, theoretical and methodological contributions currently in the field.
The third chapter of the work is based on the thesis’ theoretical base, namely, the theory of social constructivism. The central idea of social constructivism is that identity forms the basis of a country’s interests and foreign policy activities. In the process of identity making and shaping, ideas and norms play an important role, and they affect the formation of a country’s interests and actions of foreign policy.
The fourth chapter is an analysis of the effect of the “Rose Revolution” on Georgia’s national identity, taking into account that the ruling political elite makes the country’s foreign policy. The ideas, values, beliefs, and plans of the elite affect the realization of Georgia’s foreign policy, its social identity and how it visualizes itself in the international arena.
The fifth chapter describes the development of Georgia’s national identity through relations with Russia and the European Union. The chapter is divided into two parts, the first part discusses the process of Georgia’s national identity making, in relationships with Russia after the “Rose Revolution” in 2003. The second part is an insight into Georgia’s identity reshaping in relations with the European Union, which positions itself in international relations as a power that is promoting its liberal and democratic values in the world using soft power via diplomacy or influence through a good example.