Voluntary defence organisations as actors in civil defence preparedness and practice in Georgia

This dissertation project is concerned with civil defence organisations mobilised in response to the increased threat perceptions amidst the reignited conflicts in and proximity to Europe.

More specifically, building on the civil-military relations theory, research zooms on the normative and institutional aspects of the relations between civil defence organisations and the state. It explores the interplay of the bottom-up (civilian-led) and top-down (state-led) processes and respective areas of convergence, divergence, and negotiation in defence roles.

Taking Georgia as a case, this project is particularly interested in historical and political context shaping these interactions. The overarching question this research seeks to address is the following: how do civil defence organisations and the state interact in the context of evolving security landscape, and what do these interactions reveal about convergence, contestation, and negotiation of defence roles?