Caucaz

Just like the Azov Battalion and other ultra-nationalists played a key role in the spree of urban terrorism known as EuroMaidan despite their small numbers, so too does the Georgian Legion envisage doing the same in Tbilisi nowadays.

The Georgian State Security Service strongly implied that the Georgian Legion is behind the latest Western-backed regime change attempt. In their words, “These criminal plans involve Georgian nationals currently based abroad, including some Georgians fighting in Ukraine”, and are financed from overseas. This follows Georgian Legion leader Mamuka Mamulashvili accusing them of being controlled by Russia, which he claims turned Georgia into a puppet state, and embedding its spies within his ranks.

Abstract: The world has never been safe for small and vulnerable countries. Their perilous position has been largely determined by weak economic, political and military capabilities, which deprive them of the ability to ensure their national security effectively. The existing literature concerning national security of small and vulnerable countries reveals that overemphasis is placed upon diplomacy as the major instrument of advancing the national interests of such states while overlooking the importance of their supportive institutions, such as intelligence services. The literature regarding the role of intelligence services in national security demonstrates that the secretive nature of intelligence activities and their association with “dirty tricks” of statecraft demonises intelligence services, ultimately undermining their role in national security. Moreover, discrediting the intelligence services is fueled by frequently blaming the intelligence community for strategic failure, even when the inadequate political decision-making process causes it. Inquiring into the Georgian national security environment, which exemplifies well the difficulties faced by small and vulnerable countries, allows us to review and challenge the existing trends in academia regarding the interplay between intelligence and national security.

The 10th anniversary of the start of Ukraine’s Euromaidan, when thousands of demonstrators set up a protest camp in Kyiv’s central square, was last week.

Ukraine’s economy had been struggling and the Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych knew something had to be done to create new opportunities. Meanwhile the EU’s Eastern Partnership, the platform used by Brussels to engage with Eastern Europe, was keen to deepen relations with the countries of east, especially Ukraine. This led to a proposed political association and free trade agreement between the EU and Kyiv.