B/ORDERS AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION PREFERENCES: THE CASE OF GEORGIA

B/orders are multidimensional phenomena studied by various social disciplines. In the present paper b/orders are dealt with in cross-country economic cooperation context. Post-Soviet space is one of the most interesting cases for b/order studies, because of the complex re-territorialization processes that have taken place there since 1990s along with deep economic and political transformations. In Georgia b/ordering processes are affected by country-specific features (such as small size, geopolitical characteristics) and general region-wide forces (its strong European integration aspirations, Russia’s dominant role in the region). The analysis of the formal institutional basis for Georgia’s cooperation with these important economic partners and the dynamics of economic activities (cross-border flows of goods and production factors) enable to assess the role of b/orders, recent developments in b/ordering and their economic consequences. The research shows that in Georgia b/orders are under the influence of alternative external economic integration forces (from EU and Russia) and the process of internalization of the external influences by the private agents and the government, as well as their readiness, involvement and cooperation during b/order related reforms.