Abkhazia and South Ossetia

The Armenian Genocide

What makes a people a nation?  What entitles a nation to a state?  Claims to self-determination rest on the belief that a nation is a community whose shared experiences entitle it to a measure of sovereignty.  But to receive recognition of this right, appeals must be made to history: groups must prove to both themselves and others that they exist as a distinct people and that the cause of their independence is just.  Two sites consider cases in which groups are either seeking recognition of their sovereignty or of a history that is central to their experience as a nation.  One examines two regions--Abkhazia and South Ossetia--that are struggling to become independent of the Caucasian republic of Georgia.  Does their history justify their search for independence or are they merely pawns in a geopolitical game?  Another site examines the struggle of Armenians to gain international recognition that they suffered a genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Turks during World War I.  The site explains what happened during the war, why recognition is so important to the Armenians, and why the Turkish government is equally determined to deny that a genocide took place.