The Kremlin Playbook: Understanding Russian Influence in Central and Eastern Europe

Author(s): Heather A. Conley,Ruslan Stefanov,Martin Vladimirov,James Mina / Language(s): English

There was a deeply held assumption that, when the countries of Central and Eastern Europe joined NATO and the European Union in 2004, these countries would continue their positive democratic and economic transformation. Yet more than a decade later, the region has experienced a steady decline in democratic standards and governance practices at the same time that Russia’s economic engagement with the region expanded significantly. Regional political movements and figures have increasingly sought to align themselves with the Kremlin and with illiberalism. Central European governments have adopted ambiguous—if not outright pro-Russian—policy stances that have raised questions about their transatlantic orientation and produced tensions within Western institutions. The Center for the Study of Democracy, in partnership with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), recently concluded a 16-month study to understand the nature of Russian influence in five case countries: Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Latvia, and Serbia. This research determined the extent of the Russian economic footprint in the domestic economy, which has ranged between 11% and 22% on average from 2004 to 2014. The report also presented evidence of how Russia has leveraged its economic presence to cultivate an opaque web of economic and political patronage across the region that the Kremlin uses to influence and direct decisionmaking. This web resembles a network-flow model—or “unvirtuous circle”—which the Kremlin can use to influence (if not control) critical state institutions, bodies, and economies, as well as shape national policies and decisions that serve its interests while actively discrediting the Western liberal democratic system. To exploit the governance loopholes, Russia’s strategy has been to capture powerful local brokers through providing them with government sponsored business opportunities at premium returns infiltrating them in state-owned companies, national agencies including in the security sector. Another common way is to use former security officials with significant influence over parties, businesses and institutions to act as intermediaries boosting Moscow’s interests where necessary. The reverse has also been happening in the region when local powerful economic groups use their Russian links to secure capital and political backing to acquire assets and invest in large projects. Sometimes domestic interests have vied for and received the economic and political support from Russian companies or politicians to engage in rent seeking with the local government, exploiting lack of oversight and lack rule of law. In exchange for providing their brand name or capital, Russian companies have taken nominal share in lucrative domestic businesses, gained access to a strategic asset in telecommunications, finance and most often in energy.

European Union at the crossroads: The European perspectives after the global crisis

Author(s): / Language(s): English

In May 2011, during the Hungarian EU presidency a big international conference was organized in Budapest that offered a good occasion to review of the SBH team presidency and to look beyond to the competitive Europe in the postcrisis period in both national and regional terms. No doubt that the European Union arrived at the crossroads and it necessitated to deal with the European perspectives after the global crisis. So this issue has become the central topic, and also the title of the present, 14th volume of this series, based mostly on the papers of the Budapest expert conference. The protracted global crisis took a “W” shape that culminated in the summer 2011, in such a way the authors closed their chapters in an open ending game in August 2011.

20 godina od razbijanja SFRJ

Author(s): / Language(s): Russian,Serbian

From the Lisbon Strategy to the Europe 2020 Strategy: Think European for the Global Action

Author(s): / Language(s): English

The Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office in cooperation with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences has initiated a research project to elaborate the strategic vision for the Spanish- Belgian-Hungarian team presidency. The strategic working group of Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian experts had their first meeting on 7-9 September 2007 in Hungary, at the nice resort place, Lillafüred. This process of the intensive SBH cooperation was followed by the second meeting in Brussels on 17-18 April 2008 and in Madrid on 12-13 March 2009. The experts of the SBH team presidency met again in Hungary, on 11-12 2009 in Gödöllő, near Budapest in the former Royal Palace in order to discuss the perspectives of the Spanish presidency as the first rotating presidency in the SBH team presidency. It was followed by a conference in Brussels on 27-28 April 2010 on the incoming Belgian presidency.

A quarter-century of independent Ukraine. Dimensions of transformation

Author(s): Tadeusz A. Olszański / Language(s): English

On 24 August 1991, the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR proclaimed independence, and on 1 December the same year, the Ukrainian people ratified that proclamation in a referendum. The new Ukrainian state had some very important assets, such as the peaceful path that led to its independence, the fact that its territory was uncontested and its civilian administration was established. They downside, which determined Ukraine’s fundamental weaknesses, was that like the other former Soviet republics, it had been part of the Soviet state and had no central state bodies of its own, such as a general staff, a bank of issue, or most of the necessary ministries. // After nearly a quarter century of peaceful development, interrupted by the outbreak of the war in 2014, Ukraine is still weak, but at the same time it has consolidated internally and internationally, demonstrated its capacity to withstand armed aggression, and is actively looking for its place in the world. The country’s greatest success has been to raise a new generation of ‘natural-born citizens’ of Ukraine, while its greatest failure has been to succumb to the dramatic population decline with irreversible consequences, and to allow the impoverishment of the lower strata of society, typical for all the post-Soviet states. // The present paper is not a history of independent Ukraine, but an attempt to present the main mechanisms by which the former Soviet republic has transformed itself into an independent state with a market economy. It is therefore mainly focused on internal developments in Ukraine.

Conflict-dependent Russia. The domestic determinants of the Kremlin's anti-western policy

Author(s): Maria Domańska / Language(s): English

The Kremlin’s foreign policy is subordinate above all to the domestic political aims of the ruling elite. The most important of these is the maintenance and legitimistaion of the Chekist-kleptocratic model of feudalism. In this model, which is fundamentally opposed to the Western model of liberal democracy, the state is the de facto property of a small group of decision-makers, and the rules of international interactions are dictated by the logic of the ‘zero-sum game’. // The Kremlin’s confrontational approach to the West – at the political, economic, social and propaganda levels – is not a transitional phenomenon, but rather a permanent, strategic Leitmotiv of Russia’s foreign policy. It results from the intrinsic features of the Russian authoritarian regime, and from the mentality of the ruling elite included within it. The latter is largely a product of a particular type of society and of the specific path of the state’s historical development. In such conditions, is any real normalisation of relations between Russia and the West possible?

Tradícia a dejiny. Vybrané otázky zo slovensko-maďarských a slovensko-ruských vzťahov (1934-1949)

Author(s): Dagmar Čierna-Lantayová / Language(s): Slovak

Výbery z diel niektorých autorov, publikované v poslednom období, stále častejšie ilustrujú fakt, že celá generácia historikov pomaly, ale isto starne a nebodaj i odchádza. A človek si napokon prekvapene uvedomí svoju príslušnosť k tejto skupine seniorov, za posledné roky vyzdvihovanej i zatracovanej. Na pranieri istej časti verejnosti sa mnohokrát ocitli najmä odborníci z novších domácich dejín, nakoľko medzi bežnými čitateľmi sa vždy nájdu jednotlivci, ktorí si čo to ešte pamätajú a po svojom aj hodnotia. V zložitej sústave historiografie možno hovoriť o určitej „výhode“, keď sa výskumník venuje predovšetkým otázkam všeobecných dejín a domáce udalosti konfrontuje s dianím v zahraničí. Hoci i tu možno nájsť úskalia, ak sledujeme témy v nedávnej minulosti zamlčované, či priamo zakázané. Pre tento zväzok vyberám niektoré z textov, publikovaných za posledných pätnásť rokov, teda v čase, keď sa konečne otvorila možnosť uzavretú tematiku spracovať: dovtedy boli do veľkej miery tabuizované archívne pramene k oficiálne utajovaným faktom a udalostiam. Sledovať problémy nahromadené do vzťahov Slovenska k Maďarsku a Rusku (v rámci ČSR alebo aj samostatne), za obdobie od roku 1934 do roku 1949, znamená sledovať mimoriadne zložité a zauzlené udalosti. A práve z tohto okruhu svojich záujmov som zvolila tematický záber ponúkaného výberu. Iba jedna kapitola sa vymyká z daného chronologického členenia a posúva sa do roku 1956. V niektorých príspevkoch, kratších i dlhších, publikovaných s rôznym odstupom, nebolo možné zachovať kontinuitu deja a neopakovať isté základné údaje. S tým sa napokon musí vo svojich publikáciách vyrovnať každý historik. Usporiadať texty prísne tematicky, alebo podľa skúmaného obdobia, sa ukázalo dosť zložité, nakoľko sa v sledovaných problémoch musím doslova posúvať tam i späť po rámcovej časovej línii. Napokon som celú knihu rozdelila na dva celky – Slovensko a Maďarsko, Slovensko a Sovietsky zväz – a v nich jednotlivé kapitoly označila rokom vydania a zaradila postupne. Témy, na ktoré sa v tomto výbere sústreďujem, prinášajú veľké množstvo najrozličnejších rozporných otázok, načrtávajú prístup vedúcich politikov ČSR, Slovenska, Maďarska a Ruska k formovaniu zahraničnej politiky, vrátane vzťahov, v mimoriadne zložitom období. V situácii, keď sa nacistická mašinéria vydávala na pochod cez málo stabilnú a rozhádanú Európu, je mimoriadne zaujímavé sledovať názory, motiváciu a konanie vládnucich kruhov jednotlivých krajín, ale i reakcie rôznych politických strán a zoskupení. Krátka medzihra, za trvania diplomatických vzťahov medzi ľudáckou Bratislavou a komunistickou Moskvou, v období pred začiatkom druhej svetovej vojny, dlhé roky zatajovaná, ilustruje nielen politický pokus pod dozorom Berlína, ale aj vnú- torné korene dobového slovenského rusofilstva. Z nášho hľadiska si zasluhujú pozornosť zahraničnopolitické úvahy reprezentantov rôzneho názorového zamerania, ich protirečenia, predstavy, nádeje a sklamania. Všetky otvorené otázky z obdobia vojny sa od roku 1945, v mierne modifikovanej podobe, znova dostávali na diplomatickú scénu a podnecovali rozpory zainteresovaných štátov. Pre malé krajiny strednej a juhovýchod nej Európy, ktoré sa napokon ocitli v područí Sovietskeho zväzu, ovládaného J. V. Stalinom, začala dlhá a strastiplná cesta k vzdialenej vidine slobody. Nie všetky problémy, na ktoré sa vo svojej práci zameriavam, našli v historickej obci na Slovensku ďalších záujemcov a pokračovateľov. Ale i tak, predstavovať opakovane niekoľko starších či novších štúdií stavia autora do zložitej situácie. Veď za posledné roky začali publikovať mladí historici, doma i v zahraničí, a k niektorým vybraným otázkam priniesli nové poznatky aj svieže pohľady. To je však prirodzený postup a nám, starším, ostáva iba nádej, že nastupujúci kolegovia nezatratia doterajšie výsledky. Historik môže dlho či zdĺhavo a viac-menej zaujímavo písať o svojej práci, vysvetľovať svoje myšlienky či pohnútky a podrobne rozoberať jednotlivé ponúkané texty. Ja nemám v úmysle objasňovať alebo ospravedlňovať svoju motiváciu, veď konečný obraz si aj tak vytvára každý kritický čitateľ. Problémy, ktorými sa zaoberám, sú neobyčajne zauzlené a ani v okruhu slovenských autorov sme sa nedopracovali k zhodnému pohľadu. V mojom prípade sa však porovnávanie názorov dotýka predovšetkým maďarských a ruských historikov, nakoľko svojím zameraním sa predsa len do veľkej miery vyčleňujem z tematiky čisto národných dejín. Predložený výber textov ponúka dosť prí- ležitostí na zamyslenie.

Didaktički zid – Katalog

Author(s): Irfan Hošić,Mladen Miljanović / Language(s): Bosnian,English

The Didactic Wall by the artist Mladen Miljanović is a subversive educational installation that focuses on the issue of migrants, refugees, displaced persons and apatrids, and the difficulties they face when moving towards their desired geographic objective. This is an engaged set of illustrations that address directly those who, in an “illegal” way, are trying to cross national borders to get to their “land of dreams”. The Didactic Wall is a kind of an instruction on how to overcome natural and artificial barriers an “illegal” person on the move may possibly come across. [...]

Bezcenna przyjaźń. Kremlowskie wsparcie dla przyjaciół Putina

Author(s): Iwona Wiśniewska / Language(s): Polish

Od marca 2014 roku rosyjska gospodarka zmuszona jest funkcjonować w warunkach sankcji, którymi objęta została przez USA, Unię Europejską i wiele innych państw świata zachodniego w odpowiedzi na agresję na Ukrainę i aneksję Krymu. Sankcje polegały m.in. na wprowadzeniu szeregu ograniczeń współpracy gospodarczej Federacji Rosyjskiej z państwami zachodnimi. Najmniej dotkliwe ekonomicznie, mające jednak znaczenie prestiżowe, były sankcje o charakterze dyplomatycznym, w konsekwencji których Rosja została wykluczona z formatu G8 – grupy najbardziej wpływowych państw świata, zawieszone zostały jej negocjacje akcesyjne z Organizacją Współpracy Gospodarczej i Rozwoju, a przywódcy państw zachodnich początkowo powstrzymywali się od oficjalnych kontaktów z rosyjskimi władzami. Nałożone restrykcje ponadto pozbawiły Rosję dostępu do środków organizacji międzynarodowych, m.in. Bank Światowy i wszystkie jego agendy zawiesiły finansowanie nowych projektów w Rosji, podobną decyzję podjął Europejski Bank Odbudowy i Rozwoju. Rosyjska gospodarka objęta została także sankcjami sektorowymi, które m.in. limitowały dostęp do rynków kapitałowych największym bankom państwowym Rosji, a także kilku państwowym spółkom naftowym i zbrojeniowym; wprowadzały również zakaz eksportu do Rosji uzbrojenia i towarów podwójnego zastosowania; ponadto ograniczały dostęp do wybranych technologii i usług wykorzystywanych w sektorze wydobycia ropy naftowej.

The Paradoxes of Moldovan Sports. An insight into the nature of the Transnistrian conflict

Author(s): Adam Eberhardt / Language(s): English

The military conflict in the early 1990s split Moldova into two; thus Transnistria, which was set up on the eastern bank of the Dniester river as a se - parate state, remains unrecognised by the international community to date. This breakaway province has grown stronger, as today it possesses almost all the internal attributes of statehood, including an effective political system, an army and its own currency. The memory of the 1992 conflict, in which around one thousand people were killed, is the founding myth of Transnistria, and hostility towards Moldova has been used by the political elite in Tiraspol as a foundation of the state ideology and a key propaganda tool. The Transnistrian problem is usually seen as analogous to a few other separatist conflicts which broke out twenty years ago as a consequence of the fall of the Soviet empire and have not yet been resolved in a manner which would satisfy all the parties involved and also gain support from the major international actors. However, the Transnistrian conflict is clear - ly different in its nature from the conflicts in Abkhazia, South Ossetia or Nagorno-Karabakh. Relations between Moldova proper and this breakaway province cannot be described by simple definitions or seemingly obvious analogies.

Regional Security Interdependence: Proceedings of the Workshop Organized by the Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Social Studies of the Masaryk University in Brno on 25 September 2015

Author(s): Miroslav Mareš,Tomáš Šmíd,Tomáš Kaválek,Iveta Hlouchová,Martin Laryš,Tomáš Bělonožník,Lukáš Visingr / Language(s): English

Contemporary security development is characterized by growing interdependence of security phenomena at local, national, regional and global level (Kegley, Wittkopf 2006). Within the world regions regional security complexes with their regional security orders were established (Stewart-Ingersoll, Frazier: 2012). The so called “new definition”of the regional security complex is related to „a set of units whose major processes of securitization, desecuritization or both are so interlinked that their security problems cannot reasonably be analyzed or resolved apart from one another“ (Buzan, Waever, de Wilde 1997: 201)“.

Vietnam v éře západních velmocí

Author(s): Michal Schwarz,Ondřej Srba / Language(s): Czech

The book describes the modern history of Vietnam from the 16th century till the present time. It covers the development of Vietnamese statehood before the colonial era and under the dynasties Lê, Mạc, and under the influential families of Trịnh and Nguyễn. After the Tây Sơn unification, the rule was returned back to the hands of Nguyễns with the help of French advisers. Later, the French took over the power in the war with China. Their colonial rule was not satisfactory for Vietnamese and it stimulated local nationalism. The war with the Western countries in the second half of the 20th century led to partial and formal friendship with its allies (China and the Soviet Union). Post-war modernization, own political authority, and renewed Confucian values are the main features of the recent development.

Agency and Immigration Policy

Author(s): / Language(s): English

Immigration policy is interesting because seemingly powerless immigrants bare much of the brunt of said policies. Cultural idioms of us/them are unashamedly politicized at the expense of immigrants. Issues such as citizenship, human rights, labor rights, needs for laborer, culture and identity, all are intertwined into immigration policy. Policy, thus, becomes a tool of control and power. Moreover, immigrants and refugees are essentialized in everyday discourse as either hard working labors, or as lazy or immoral groups. They are politicized as barbarous caravans, or simply hordes of otherness. Immigrants are voiceless and at the same time burdened with all the ills of the host society. Much of the time, voices of their contributions are drowned out by the voices of fear and invasion. And this is inadvertently embedded in policy and its interpretations. This book is a selection of work from different places around the globe. It examines immigration and policy from different perspectives. Contributors to this book explore the intention of policies, its causes, and the results of its enactment, to society’s transformation but also it explores the action and agency of the subjects of said policies.

Yearbook of Slovakia's Foreign Policy 2019

Author(s): / Language(s): English

Thirty years ago, when the Iron Curtain came down and the region was swept up in euphoria, the Slovaks and Czechs, along with many in the free world, expected progress would be linear and positive, bringing enduring stability and prosperity. The events of recent years have proved us wrong and 2019 was no exception in this regard. Political, economic and technological change led to tectonic shifts in foreign and security policy across the world. The global order is being transformed. We are still in the middle of this process and it is difficult to define its parameters. We cannot say with any certainty when and how it will end. We do not know what the human and material costs will ultimately be. But we know that it is happening. We know that we are in the middle of a geopolitical and geoeconomic transformation. And we all find navigating these shifts difficult. Slovak foreign policy has stood up to these challenges by engaging, by being responsible and by having a clear strategy. As a result, we have no enemies and no significant unresolved issues with any country in the world. Slovak foreign policy has remained consistent and defended its principles. In an unpredictable world, Slovakia has remained a predictable and reliable partner.

Online Influence and Hostile Narratives in Eastern Asia

Author(s): Hannah Smith / Language(s): English

Eastern Asia — which we will define as including East and Southeast Asia — is a region of increasing geopolitical competition with many racial, cultural and societal fractures. With the rapid expansion of inexpensive internet access, these fractures and tensions mean that many states in the region are both vulnerable to, and a source of, hostile information activities that are being used to achieve strategic goals both inside and outside the region. This report documents examples of hostile information activities that have originated in Eastern Asia and have been targeted in the following countries: • Taiwan; • The Hong Kong-based protest movement; • West Papua; • The Philippines.

Russia’s Footprint in the Nordic-Baltic Information Environment. Report 2019/2020

Author(s): / Language(s): English

This is the second volume issued in the framework of the project ‘Russia’s (Dis-)Information Campaigns in Nordic-Baltic Countries’. This project was initiated in 2016 as an ongoing effort to monitor and analyse Russia’s (dis-)information influence in the Nordic-Baltic region, which includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden (the NB8). The first volume was published in January 2018.

Oriental Meetings in Sosnowiec. Język, literatura, społeczeństwo / Sosnowieckie Spotkania Orientalistyczne.

Author(s): / Language(s): English,Polish

The mistakes made by Chinese language learners, criminal law conditions in Arab countries or family love shown in Bollywood productions are just a few of the issues that readers can get find in this volume which aims to discuss problems related to Asian societies, languages and cultures, as well as to help them see the mutual influences and connections with the Western world. The texts are the fruit of an interdisciplinary scientific conference OMIS, organised by the Institute of Linguistics of the University of Silesia. Thanks to a variety of topics and accessible language, the publication is an excellent source of knowledge not only for specialists.

75. GODIŠNJICA TREĆEG ZASJEDANJA ZAVNOBIH-A: ULOGA TREĆEG ZASJEDANJA ZAVNOBIH-A U DRUŠTVENOM I POLITIČKOM RAZVOJU BOSNE I HERCEGOVINE

Author(s): / Language(s): Bosnian,Croatian,Serbian

Naučni odbor je pripremio autorske referate za učesnike Okruglog stola “75. Godišnjica Trećeg zasjedanja ZAVNOBiH-a: uloga Trećeg zasjedanja ZAVNOBiH-a u društvenom i političkom razvoju Bosne i Hercegovine” za štampu. Program Okruglog stola sastojao se od uvodnih obraćanja i 14 referata. Redoslijed radova u ovom zborniku u najvećoj mjeri slijedi redoslijed izlaganja referata pripremljenih za Okrugli sto, koji se trebao održati krajem 2020. godine, međutim zbog nezahvalne epidemiološke situacije izazvane virusom COVID-19, nije bilo mogućnosti njegovo održavanje. Akademik Ivo Cvitković je naglasio da većina pripadnika pokreta nisu bili komunisti, ali su oni bili organizatori antifašističke borbe. Postavio je sljedeća pitanja: za šta se borio NOP, politika NOF-e; uvođenje zvanja vjerskog referenta, primjeri odnosa narodnooslobodilačkog pokreta prema slobodi religije, sloboda vjeronauke i osnivanje “vjerske komisije”? Posebnu pažnju je posvetio religiji i crkvi na Trećem zasjedanju ZAVNOBiH-a i pitanjima: vjerski službenici, diskusije u kojima se kritički osvrtalo na religiju i religijske zajednice, biranje sveštenika u ZAVNOBiH, gdje je pošlo “ukrivo”, zašto je došlo do promjena odnosa prema religiji i crkvi i začeci netrpeljivosti?

Communicating Defence in Slovakia and the Czech Republic: Mapping Actors and Narratives online

Author(s): Martin Brezina,Peter Dubóczi,Matej Kandrík,Veronika Krátka Špalková,Tomáš Kriššák / Language(s): English

Slovakia has a much larger number of anti- Western actors communicating defence themes than the Czech Republic. There is a significantly higher penetration of anti-Western and pro-Russian narratives in Slovakia than in the Czech Republic. Slovak anti-Western actors are the best-performing group in our study. They consistently gain significantly more reactions, shares and comments than pro-Western actors in Slovakia or any actor in the Czech Republic. The Czech information space is predominantly negative towards Russia, the Slovak towards the West. Most posts in the Slovak infosphere were anti-Western in their geopolitical sentiment. The Czech infosphere was different in that most posts with negative sentiment were about Russia. The Slovak infosphere is much more clustered than the Czech infosphere. This is because of the stronger anti-Western leaning of Slovakia and because Slovak actors are more effective in communicating defence themes than their Czech counterparts. NATO was a significantly bigger topic in Slovakia than in the Czech Republic. While in the Slovak dataset there were almost 600 posts concerning NATO, there were less than 400 in the Czech Republic. But both countries had slightly prevailing negative geopolitical sentiment towards NATO. Following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the war dominated public discourse for most of 2022. Consequently, the majority of the content collected for this research concerned the war in Ukraine. Other prominent defence-related topics included military cooperation (training and weapons deliveries) and NATO, but even these topics were most often mentioned in the context of the war in Ukraine.

Georgia’s Information Environment through the Lens of Russia’s Influence

Author(s): / Language(s): English

The executive summary provides a brief overview of the key ideas discussed in the publication. It also highlights questions for further discussion. Since the dissolution of the USSR, one of Russia’s main objectives has been to keep former Soviet republics under its informational, economic, and military influence. In the case of Georgia, its persistent westward outlook has triggered openly hostile rhetoric and action from Russia. In August 2008, Russia demonstrated its readiness to take military action to obstruct Georgia’s NATO integration and assert its dominance in the region. This, however, has only strengthened Georgia’s desire to pull away from Russian influence and integrate more closely with the European Union and NATO. In fact, Georgia plans to formally apply for EU membership in 2024. Georgia’s geopolitical setting is not one to be envied. Aside from NATO member Turkey, Georgia does not have Western-integrated allies in the region. It also cannot escape the economic and military influence of its larger neighbour. Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States are Georgia’s main trade partners. Twenty per cent of Georgia’s territory has been occupied since the 2008 war, and creeping occupation, including regular kidnappings along the administrative borderline, continues. Apart from other factors, such as growing Chinese influence in Georgia, which are beyond the scope of this publication, Russia remains the main threat to Georgia’s stability and development. In terms of Georgia’s information environment, the Kremlin tries to exploit the following vulnerabilities: Georgia’s fragile economic situation, painful social issues, high political polarisation, media-party parallelism, conservativism and traditionalism, as well as certain Euro-Atlantic integration fatigue, where Georgians wish to see more progress. In addition, the occupied territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia, as well as conflicts elsewhere in the region, such as Nagorno-Karabakh, remain additional pressure points.