The Armenia-Georgia War of 1918 in the Context of the Resolution of the Border Dispute by Force

Seizing the opportunity created by the revolutions in Russia, the three South Caucasian peoples declared their independence in 1918 and wanted to be part of the new order after World War I. At the same time, they engaged in an intense debate about their livingspace and the disputed borders between them. Azerbaijan followed a more restrained policy than the other two and favoured a negotiated settlement of the conflicts. Meanwhile, Georgia and Armenia went to war over the border dispute between them, and the region witnessed bloody confrontations for this reason. The dream of 'Greater Armenia' of the Dashnak Party, which is in power in Armenia, has been the main cause of the conflicts in the region. Dashnak's unending ambitions, its territorial claims against both neighbours and its preference for an armed rather than a political solution turned it into the main perpetrator of the turmoil. Consequently, the Armenian leadership's provocative actions against Georgia led to a fierce war between the two countries in December 1918. The war, which continued for three weeks, was halted by the intervention of Britain and France and ended with a peace treaty. This study focuses on the wars that took place between Armenia and Georgia in 1918. Within the scope of the study, the documents ofthe Georgian Central Historical Archive were examined, news, comments and analyses in the Georgian, Russian and Azerbaijani press of the period were meticulously scanned, and memoirs were examined. At the same time, as a result of reading, collating and evaluating the second-hand sources written on the subject, the study has been transformed into an original academic article.