THE DILEMMA OF LIMITED SOVEREIGNTY AS A CHALLENGE TO THE INTERNATIONAL REGULATION OF FROZEN CONFLICTS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of limited sovereignty as a key challenge in the settlement of frozen conflicts in the post-Soviet space. The authors analyze the concept of sovereignty through the prism of international law and theories of international relations, emphasizing the differences between formal authority and effective control, which determines the existence of «zones of limited statehood». Particular attention is paid to the Georgian case, where international mediation, in particular through the agreements of 1992 and 1994, institutionalized political non-settlement and consolidated the pattern of a stalemate. The article shows how peacekeeping interventions, despite the intention of stabilization, create conditions for the preservation of the conflict, providing the parties with resources and legitimacy, while at the same time increasing dependence on external actors. The decisions of the UN, EU and CIS are analyzed, which, by effectively legitimizing the Russian military presence, contributed to the consolidation of «gray zones» on the territory of Georgia. The authors emphasize the contradictory role of the EU and the US, which declared support for Georgia’s sovereignty, but in practice demonstrated concessions to Moscow in order to avoid confrontation. Particular attention is paid to the «Medvedev-Sarkozy Plan» of 2008, which ended the hot phase of the war, but was not ratified and left the conflict legally unsettled. The work concludes that the lack of effective mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of agreements, disagreements between the positions of international institutions and tolerance of the participation of the patron state in peacekeeping processes create conditions for a persistent limitation of sovereignty. This calls into question the effectiveness of the modern architecture of international security in resolving frozen conflicts and requires the development of new approaches to ensuring the territorial integrity of states.