The Imagination Of Multiple "Others" And The Consruction Of Georgian National Identity

National identity is the “label” of a country in the international community.It’s not only affected by interaction between different states,but also by political elites’ own pursuit.This article analyzes the strategy of Georgian national identity construction,explains how South Ossetia,Abkhazia,Russia and Europe,as the“significant other”,have influenced Georgian national identity.After the collapse of the Soviet Union,Georgia strengthens national cohesion by emphasizing “nation,language and faith”,and adopted policies to promote the integration of ethnic minorities.In addition,political elites have been trying to build links between Georgia and the Western world in both historical and practical terms,trying to establish Georgia as a European country with its own distinctive identity.At the same time,political elites also use “significant others” to strengthen Georgian national identity.In the 1990 s,Ossetians and Abkhazians acted as “internal others”.However,after the outbreak of the Russo-Georgian War,the existence of“internal others” was deliberately weakened.Through “de-Russification” policies and reinterpretation of history,Russia became the “intermediate other”,threatening the cultural purity of Georgia from within and the independence of Georgia from without,while hindering its “return to Europe” strategy.However,the strategy of constructing “Georgianness” focuses on the main ethnic group,and a unified “nation” has not yet been formed.The highly ambiguous definition of “Europeanness” not only makes people worry that Georgia’s political independence and cultural uniqueness will be weakened,but also leads to complicated attitudes towards Georgia’s “European identity” from other countries.The current ruling party’s attempts to adjust the path of national identity construction and reverse radical attitude towards Russia not only met with criticism and anti-Russian sentiment,but also led the Western world to frequently question the authenticity of Georgia’s“European identity”.In general,the construction of Georgian national identity still faces many difficulties.