2010 Articles

After the August War: A New Strategy for U.S. Engagement with Georgia

Mitchell, Lincoln A.; Cooley, Alexander A.

In the coming years, determining and properly structuring the relationship with Georgia will be critical to U.S. interests in the region, as well as to U.S. relations with Russia and Europe. Moreover, the nature of the relationship between Washington and Tbilisi will play a major role in Georgia's future development, which, in turn, will have a significant impact both within Georgia and beyond its borders.

This report focuses on neither the origins of the 2008 conflict nor the role of the United States in the run-up to war; instead, it examines possible ways to get the U.S.-Georgia relationship back on track so that shared goals can be achieved. In a healthy U.S.-Georgian relationship, the United States not only would help Georgia develop peacefully and democratically, but would clearly articulate and pursue its own interests in the region.