Georgia: Approaching a Crossroads? Or Permanently Parked at One?

This is a meditation on the mind of a small state, Georgia.It begins next door, with Georgia’s equally small neighbour, Armenia, whose president until 2022 was Armen Sarkissian, author of The Small States Club, the book which has prompted this essay.Georgia and Armenia share a 219-kilometre border and several distinctive features. They are similar in population size—Armenia a bit shy of three million, Georgia at three and a half—and both have large diasporas. They are among the earliest Christian countries. Each has its own unique alphabet. Both of its peoples have learned how to survive despite being brutalised and occupied by neighbouring powers. And each might be farther along the path of national development had it the ability to make different choices.