Strategic culture and selective compliance: the Georgian foreign policy paradox

Behaviours and tendencies in Georgian foreign policy can be explained by identifying prevailing streams in Georgian strategic culture. Michael Cecire considers trilateral cooperation with Turkey and Azerbaijan as a case study. He finds that Georgian strategic culture is primarily Western-orientated. However, Georgia’s strategic cultural attachment to the West does not mean that it fully adheres to Western norms, nor is it clearly engaging in utility-maximising behaviour. As such, despite amity to the West, Georgian foreign policy may diverge from that of its core Euro-Atlantic partners.