Framing and Living the Georgian-Abkhazian Contested Borderland: A Multiscalar Analysis of the Material, Temporal, Legal, and Digital Dimensions

This article examines the conceptual and practical transformations of the Georgian-Abkhazian contested borderland through its material, temporal, legal, and digital dimensions. Adopting a multiscalar perspective, it explores how various actors – including local and national authorities, international stakeholders, and residents – both frame and experience this contested space. Grounded in Gloria Anzaldúa’s foundational conceptualization of borderlands/la Frontera and engaging with contemporary debates on the concept, the article analyzes how agency is exercised across scales in framing, shaping, and navigating this contested space. Drawing on qualitative data collected between 2021 and 2025, it shows that Abkhazian authorities seek to consolidate the contested border as a marker of statehood, while Georgian actors frame it as a site of Russian occupation and increasingly securitize it. These dynamics affect the daily lives of the residents who retain forms of agency in navigating this geopolitically charged environment. The discussion mobilizes Visan and Mountz (Citation2025) typology of material, temporal, legal, and digital borderlands to interpret these dynamics and their broader implications.