“Borderization” as a Tool of Gray Zone Warfare: The Case of Georgia

Abstract

This article analyzes “borderization” in Georgia – the process of unilaterally erecting physical barriers and control regimes along administrative lines with Abkhazia and the former South Ossetian Autonomous District – through the prism of the concept of gray zones. The study answers the question: how does the process of borderization contribute to the institutionalization of legal and spatial uncertainty, and to what extent can it be interpreted as a form of gray zone tactics? Based on a critical synthesis of military-strategic, institutional, and operational approaches, this study proposes a working definition of gray zones as sustainable regimes of coercion below the thresholds of war, characterized by difficult attribution of the source of actions and controlled escalation. The analysis is based on policy documents, reports from international organizations, and long-term field observation (2009–2024). The findings demonstrate that borderization functions as a gray zone regime through legal ambivalence, spatio-temporal transformation, and their informational articulation. This regime ensures territorial control without open war or formal annexation. The conceptual contribution
consists in defining the minimum core of gray zones as applied to territorial conflicts and identifying the structural connection between gray zones and border areas.

DOI: 10.14712/23363231.2026.3