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Generational Difference in Understanding Georgian National Identity and the Other

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Generational Difference in Understanding Georgian National Identity and the Other GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCE IN UNDERSTANDING GEORGIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY AND THE OTHER by Ellen Galdava A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science Conflict Analysis and Resolution Committee: ___________________________________________ Chair of Committee ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ Graduate Program Director ___________________________________________ Dean, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution Date: _____________________________________ Spring Semester 2015 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Generational Difference in Understanding Georgian National Identity and The Other A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University By Ellen Galdava Bachelor of Arts American University in Bulgaria, 2012 Director: Daniel Rothbart, Professor School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution Spring Semester 2015 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Copyright 2015 Ellen Galdava All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION This is dedicated to my husband Giorgi, my family, and to my country. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my thesis committee, family, respondents, and supporters who have made this happen. I want to thank my husband, Giorgi Maisuradze and Claudine Kuradusenge, for moral support. Dr. Karyna V. Korostelina for guidance and recommendations. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................... VI TABLE OF TERMS AND DEFINITIONS .................................................................................... VII ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................... XXI CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ....................................................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................... 7 IDENTITY ................................................................................................................................................................... 7 GENERATIONS ....................................................................................................................................................... 24 DISCUSSION OF THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS ........................................................................................... 35 CHAPTER 3: GEORGIA PAST AND PRESENT ........................................................................ 38 CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 68 QUALITATIVE APPROACH ........................................................................................................... 68 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES .................................................................................................................. 69 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION ..................................................................................................... 71 VALIDITY ................................................................................................................................................................ 73 ETHICAL ISSUES ................................................................................................................................................... 74 CHAPTER 5: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ..................................................................... 76 AGE GROUP 18-28 ............................................................................................................................................... 76 AGE GROUP 29-49 ............................................................................................................................................... 96 AGE GROUP 50-75 .............................................................................................................................................. 117 CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION .................................................................. 133 DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................................................................... 133 RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 143 FUTURE RESEARCH ........................................................................................................................................... 145 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................................... 146 APPENDIX .......................................................................................................................................... 151 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................... 153 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure…………………………………………………………………………………Page Figure 1: Theme 1, age group 18-28 .................................................................................................. 81 Figure 2: Theme 2, age group 18-28 .................................................................................................. 83 Figure 3: Theme 3, age group 18-28 .................................................................................................. 85 Figure 4: Theme 4, age group 18-28 .................................................................................................. 87 Figure 6: Theme 6, age group 18-28 .................................................................................................. 92 Figure 7: Theme 7, age group 18-28 .................................................................................................. 95 Figure 8: Theme 1, age group 29-49 .................................................................................................. 99 Figure 9: Theme 2, age group 29-49 ............................................................................................... 102 Figure 10 : Theme 3, age group 29-49 ........................................................................................... 105 Figure 11: Theme 4, Age group 29-49 ............................................................................................ 107 Figure 12: Theme 5, age group 29-49 ............................................................................................ 110 Figure 13: Theme 6, age group 29-49 ............................................................................................ 113 Figure 14: Theme 7, age group 29-49 ............................................................................................. 115 Figure 15: Theme 1, age group 50-75 ............................................................................................ 120 Figure 16: Theme 2, age group 50-75 ............................................................................................ 122 Figure 17: Theme 3, age group 50-75 ............................................................................................ 123 Figure 18: Theme 4, age group 50-75 ............................................................................................ 126 Figure 19: Theme5, age group 50-75 ............................................................................................. 128 Figure 20: Theme 6, age group 50-75 ............................................................................................ 129 Figure 21: Theme 7, age group 50-75 ............................................................................................ 131 vi TABLE OF TERMS AND DEFINITIONS Association Agreement (AA): AA is a treaty between the European Union (EU), its Member States and a non-EU country. It creates a framework for cooperation between them. Axiological balance: Daniel Rothbart and Karyna V. Korostlelina (2007) developed the concept of axiological balance to refer to a kind of parallelism of virtues and vices attributed to groups. Balanced axiology leads to the recognition of morality as well as immorality of both the Other and the in-group. A high degree of axiological balance reflects recognition of one’s own moral faults and failings, while a low degree of axiological balance is the perception of an in-group as morally pure and superior and an out-group as evil and vicious. Boundary: Charles Tilly (2005) described boundary as any contiguous zone of contrasting density, rapid transition, or separation between internally connected clusters of population and/or activity for which human participants create shared representations. If this is a quote, use quotation marks and include page reference vii Caucasus: Caucasus is a region at the border of Europe and Asia, situated between the Black and the Caspian seas. The Northern Caucasus include: Russia, Rostov Oblast, Volgograd Oblast, Kalmykia, Astrakhan Oblast, Chechnya, Dagestan,
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