Conference Agenda

Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Georgia have pursued distinct paths in shaping their identity, foreign policy, and the role of Europe within them. Georgia has swiftly asserted its Europeanness and natural belonging to the European family, anchoring Euro-Atlantic integration as a foreign policy priority. Conversely, Armenia, while affirming a European identity, has prioritised relations with its Russian security ally and integrated into Moscow-led regional structures.

Starting from this initial comparison, this paper examines how, since the early 2020s, both countries have begun redefining their Selves and relations to Others, following nearly inverted trajectories. These shifts have become particularly evident since the onset of the full-scale war in Ukraine: Georgia has visibly disengaged from the EU, while Armenia has demonstrated an increasing willingness to deepen its engagement and integration with it.

Drawing on interviews with local actors in Armenia and Georgia, this paper highlights these shifting identities and foreign policy orientations, taking into account the impact of the full-scale war in Ukraine, as well as of domestic factors, and relations with other significant actors. It argues that major reconfigurations in regional dynamics and relations to Europe are currently unfolding in the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood, and particularly in the South Caucasus, at a time when the EU is finally opening its door to enlargement.