Models of coexistence of Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Georgia

Abstract

Georgia is a multi-ethnic country with the largest minority groups being Azerbaijanis and Armenians. These national minorities are mainly concentrated in two regions: Kvemo Kartli, where the majority of the population is Azerbaijanis and Samtskhe-Javakheti – Armenians constituting the majority. This study puts its main emphasis on the Marneuli region in the Kvemo-Kartli region where both Armenians and Azerbaijanis live, though Azerbaijanis are the majority, comprising 80% of the population, and Armenians comprising 5%. The aim of the paper is to find the factors that have given rise to the model of peaceful coexistence of these two minority groups irrespective of the conflict between the two nations over Nagorno-Karabakh. The purpose of the present Master’s essay is to find the factors that contribute to the peaceful coexistence of Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the Marneuli region in Georgia. The ultimate aim is to find and explore the models which help both Azerbaijanis and Armenians live next door to each other without any conflict and to prove that these two people are able to get along fine. The topic studied is quite relevant nowadays for several reasons. First of all, everyone knows that tensions between Azerbaijanis and Armenians still continue and these tensions come from the conflict that arose about 26 years ago. Many people in Artsakh cannot imagine themselves living with Azerbaijanis in the same territory. This is because of their historical memory and because of the bad implications associated with Azerbaijanis. Still president, Robert Kocharyan also in one occasion expressed such an opinion that Armenians and Azerbaijanis are genetically incompatible. However, in the Marneuli region in Georgia there are Armenians and Azerbaijanis who live together without any conflict. Besides, little research has been done on finding the factors that have contributed to the maintenance of the peaceful coexistence of Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the Marneuli region in Georgia.