NATO Membership and Russian Influence: Instruments of Reform in Georgian Civil-Military Relations

• Main Author: Ingram, David
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Politicus Journal 2022
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/politicus/article/view/14467

Since 2003, Georgia has sought NATO membership in order to distance itself from Russia’s influence. There have been a number of reforms within the Georgian military in order for them to better integrate with existing NATO forces and guarantee them a spot on the North Atlantic Council. This paper seeks to answer the question of why has Georgian government professionalized its military. The paper argues that the professionalization of the Georgian military is a result of Georgia’s desire to join NATO in order to escape Russia’s sphere of influence, and that further integration with NATO is mitigated by continued Russian influence in Georgia’s two ‘breakaway’ states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. These reforms have resulted in an increased professionalized military with sufficient civilian oversight that now follows Samuel Huntington’s theory of objective civilian control, and Peter Feaver’s agency theory. As for Georgia’s aspirations of NATO membership, the situation remains very fluid and uncertain.