JOURNAL "ORBELIANI"

DISPLACEMENT AS EVERYDAY LIFE: HOTEL SPACE, MEMORY, AND SYMBOLIC BOUNDARIES

Tea Kamushadze — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Displacement is not merely a political status or a technical-administrative category; it is an everyday condition that structurally produces boundaries between “us” and “them,” transforming space into a site of marginalization and exception. This article examines how social boundaries are materialized and reproduced in the everyday lives of internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in collective centers, focusing on the case of Hotel Sakartvelo in Tbilisi. Drawing on anthropological approaches to borders
– not as fixed geographic or administrative lines, but as mechanisms of symbolic and social ordering (Barth 1969; Lamont & Molnár 2002) – the study explores how displacement generates spatial and socio-cultural separation (Malkki 1995). Based on ethnographic research conducted in 2022, including interviews with residents and a personal narrative by a third-generation IDP raised in the hotel, the article analyzes how displaced persons navigate marginality and reimagine “home.” The hotel, once a symbol of luxury, now functions as a liminal space in which temporariness has become a long-term condition of existence. Residents’ everyday practices – anchored in memory, materiality, and sensory rituals – continuously reshape the symbolic boundaries between belonging and exclusion. As Navaro-Yashin (2012) suggests, these imaginative acts produce a “conjured space” marked by tension between impermanence and the longing for stability

US-CANADA STANDOFF: POLITICAL GAME WITH THE GREAT LAKES AS THE FIRST SHOT AT THE BEGINNING OF A SILENT WAR

Ketevan Meskhidze — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Perhaps no one imagined that the greatest threat to Canada might come not from missile strikes, but from pipelines; not from tanks, but from water. No drones or armored vehicles crossed the border. What emerged was something subtler, and
perhaps more dangerous: an idea. Initially voiced as a provocation, even in jest, it gradually took shape and acquired increasing political weight. When Trump declared that Canada should become the 51st state of the United States, the world laughed. Yet he continued to repeat the claim. What first appeared to be the ravings of a single individual gradually assumed the character of state
strategy: war without a formal declaration of war. This is not a conventional conflict. There have been no military offensives and no official declarations. What is unfolding between the United States and Canada is something deeper and more unsettling: a
quiet dismantling of one of the most durable alliances in the Northern Hemisphere. At its core lies competition over resources, for every empire eventually seeks what it lacks. Few could have imagined that the target would be Canada – a country associated with forests, hockey, and peace, and long regarded as the United States’ most reliable, stable, and predictable ally to the north.
This article examines the ongoing conflict between the United States and Canada, which is becoming increasingly acute and politically consequential. It focuses on disputes over water resources that may lead to ecological crisis. Particular emphasis
is placed on the United States’ projection of power and Canada’s response, including political protest, diplomatic scandal, and the broader reality that, after decades of restrained diplomacy, institutional peace, treaty-based relations, and faith in the
international order, Canada now finds itself confronting an existential threat.

FEATURES OF DAESH TERRORIST PROPAGANDA

Zviad Tkabladze — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The article is devoted to an analysis of the propaganda machine of the international terrorist organization Daesh (Islamic State, IS, ISIS, ISIL), examining the factors that contributed to the formation of a propaganda system that proved more sophisticated, effective, and distinct than that of other terrorist organizations. Propaganda played a central role in the activities of the Islamic State, facilitating the recruitment of new members, the justification of violence, and the consolidation of its ideological foundation. Its core elements included the dissemination of jihadist, Salafist, and Takfiri ideology, the promotion of hatred toward other religions and nations, and the construction of a myth of invincibility. Daesh relied on its own “scientists” and “scholars,” as well as on information and communication technologies, the internet, social media, various open and closed platforms, hacker networks, professionally produced films, and high-quality printed magazines. Under the guise of Islam, it in fact turned against the Islamic faith and engaged in religious and political extremism and terrorism.
Although Daesh presented itself as a defender of oppressed Muslims, in reality it preached violence in the name of religion and declared as infidels all Muslims – Shiites, Sunnis, and others – who did not accept its interpretation, subjecting them
to ruthless persecution. Although the group’s human, financial, military, and territorial resources largely disappeared, first in 2017 and then in 2019, Daesh continues to exist today in the form of dispersed cells and retains the capacity to inflict harm.

TRANSFORMING THE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM IN GEORGIA: CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES

Tengiz Verulava — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Public health protection is a core function of the state, aimed at preventing disease and promoting health through organized social efforts, including environmental sanitation, the control of infectious diseases, public hygiene education, and early disease detection. Epidemiological research also enables the rational allocation of resources to priority health problems, which is especially important for a low-income country such as Georgia.
In 1995, the reorientation of the Georgian healthcare system laid the foundation for a new approach to public health, based not only on the medical model but also on preventive healthcare and effective state epidemiological surveillance. Unlike most
post-Soviet countries, Georgia – apart from the Baltic states – fully abandoned the Soviet sanitary-epidemiological model and established a new public health infrastructure based on European principles, drawing significantly on the experience of the US
Centers for Disease Control, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and Israeli public health institutions.
This reform separated supervisory and executive functions and led to the creation of two distinct bodies: the Department of Public Health and the Department of Sanitary Supervision and Hygienic Norms. Although the reform faced challenges,
particularly insufficient state financing and weak integration of primary healthcare into public health functions, it played an important role in strengthening epidemiological surveillance, improving disease control, and developing preventive measures. In the
modern globalized world, the role of public health continues to grow, making stronger public health policies and closer cooperation between the state and the private sector increasingly necessary.

SIMILAR AND DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS OF TWO NOVELS: REGARDING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KNUT HAMSUN’S “MYSTERIES” AND GURAM GEGESHIDZE’S “THE SINNER”

Kakhaber Loria — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Following Stalin’s death, the mid-1950s and early 1960s witnessed major socio-political changes across the Soviet empire. Like other spheres of social life, art and literature were also affected by these transformations. In Georgian literature, particularly noteworthy processes emerged, which may be understood as an attempt to restore and continue the modernist line of development that had been forcibly interrupted in the 1930s. The first novel of the outstanding Georgian writer Guram Gegeshidze (1934–2020), “The Sinner” (1966), should be read in this context. In Georgian literary criticism, the question soon arose as to the literary origins of
Gegeshidze’s work. Did its main character, Vamek Guramishvili, emerge from Georgian reality, or was he a hero transplanted from foreign literature? Among Vamek’s several possible literary counterparts, particular attention has been devoted to Johan
Nagel, the protagonist of Knut Hamsun’s celebrated modernist novel “Mysteries”, which has long enjoyed, and continues to enjoy, great popularity in Georgia.
Guram Gegeshidze’s novel reveals notable similarities to Hamsun’s novel in terms of plot development, especially in its opening sections. Like Nagel, Vamek becomes the catalyst for a series of strange events in the small, unfamiliar town to which he unexpectedly arrives. It appears that “The Sinner” was indeed written under the inspiration of “Mysteries”; at the same time, however, it clearly differs not only from Hamsun’s novel but from any other work as well. The inner world of “The
Sinner” and “Mysteries,” their underlying message and central ideas, and especially the resolution of the plot, differ substantially from one another.

CONSIDERATION OF THE ORDINARY COURTS’ PRACTICE OF APPLICATION OF NORMS DURING THE EXAMINATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL DISPUTES

Gia Chkhaidze — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When interpreting a normative act, the Constitutional Court must consider not only the textual meaning of a disputed norm but also the authoritative interpretation given to it by the ordinary courts. At the same time, the Constitutional Court does not always share the interpretation adopted by the ordinary courts. Adherence to this standard is crucial for determining the admissibility of a constitutional complaint or submission, since the allegedly unconstitutional content of a norm must clearly derive from the text of the disputed provision and/or be confirmed by the authoritative interpretation of the bodies responsible for its application.
The case law of the Constitutional Court is not consistent and does not reflect a uniform approach to what should be regarded as an authoritative interpretation by bodies applying the law. To what extent should the interpretation of the ordinary courts
be taken into account? What amounts to a contradictory or manifestly unreasonable interpretation by courts of the same instance? What is the Constitutional Court’s margin of appreciation where no interpretation of the disputed norm exists in the case law
of the ordinary courts? This paper examines the standards and characteristics that may help claimants accurately determine the content of the disputed norm and, consequently, substantiate a constitutional complaint or submission. It may also assist
the ordinary courts and the Constitutional Court in harmonizing interpretive practice.

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE ALLOCATION OF THE BURDEN OF PROOF IN DEFAMATION CASES IN LIGHT OF LEGISLATIVE AMENDMENTS

Nino Katamadze — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This article offers a legal analysis of the allocation of the burden of proof in defamation cases in light of the 2025 amendments to the Law of Georgia on Freedom of Speech and Expression. It examines the value-based conflict between freedom of
expression and the protection of personality rights and assesses the extent to which the revised definition of defamation and the reversed burden-of-proof model comply with international standards, including the case law of the European Court of Human
Rights. The article is based on comparative legal analysis and evaluates approaches developed in European, German, and Anglo-American legal systems. Particular attention is paid to the distinction between statements of fact and value judgments, the
differing legal status of public and private individuals, and the importance of procedural fairness and proportionality in allocating the burden of proof. The article concludes that, although the legislative amendments are generally compatible with international
approaches, their practical application requires careful and context-sensitive judicial assessment in order to avoid disproportionate restrictions on freedom of expression.

A SCOPING REVIEW OF PERCEIVED SUPPORT NEEDS OF TEACHERS FOR IMPLEMENTING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

Wing Sze Emily Chow Chow, Kate de Bruin, Umesh Sharma; Teona Nutsubidze — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This paper presents a Georgian translation of the article by Wing Sze Emily Chow, Kate de Bruin, and Umesh Sharma, entitled “A Scoping Review of Perceived Support Needs of Teachers for Implementing Inclusive Education.” The article emphasizes the essential role of teachers in the implementation of inclusive education and highlights the problem of inadequate perceived support in this area. More specifically, the study seeks to identify the forms of support that teachers regard as necessary for the effective integration and implementation of inclusive education within the school environment.
To achieve this aim, the article reviews the findings of 25 studies published between 2007 and 2020. The analysis shows that teachers most frequently identified the need for training in inclusive education and in working with students with special
educational needs and disabilities, as well as the need for appropriate curriculum adaptation tailored to individual student capacities. In addition, the findings underscore the importance of an adequate number of qualified teaching assistants, collaboration
with other teachers and special education professionals, smaller class sizes, and sufficient time for effective practice.