Georgia’s place on the scale of modern U.S. foreign policy priorities

Abstract

The  article  analyzes  the  evolution of  Georgia’s role  in  the  US foreign policy strategy in 2012–2022. The article is aimed at understanding the degree of importance of Georgia in the U.S. foreign policy, identifying the areas of cooperation and conflict, and establishing the nature of the relations between Georgia and the United States. The methodology of the study is based on a systematic  approach, thanks  to  which it  was possible to  determine the most significant factors influencing the bilateral relations. The scientific novelty of the research consists in conducting a comprehensive analysis of the logic and dynamics of the 2012–2022 Georgian-American relations, the study of the anti-Western rhetoric of the modern Georgian government, as well as in attracting the relevant groups of sources that have not been used previously in the domestic studies on the Georgian-American relations (the U.S. reports on the state of democracy in Georgia, a complete list of the legislative materials of  the  U.S.  Congress  for Georgia, the  data on the  Georgia’s foreign trade from2014 to  2022, the  U.S.  officials’ statements  criticizing the “Georgian Dream”, etc.).The author comes to the conclusion that the Biden administration, unlike the previous administrations, faced an additional problem in determining the significance of Georgia: since the end of Bush’s presidential term, the American side had not had a clear strategic regional policy to which Tbilisi could have related. Thus, the  under taken  research  is relevant  for the  formation of  Russia’s foreign policy strategy in the context of the toughened geopolitical competition in the South Caucasus in order to effectively protect its own national security.