Publication

This issue of Caucasus Analytical Digest features four articles that examine the role of traditional law in Georgia, specifically in the case of the Svan population in the northwest part of the country. Stéphane Voell first argues that traditional law remains an important frame of reference for the Svan, despite Tbilisi’s improved administrative and law-enforcement skills. Lavrenti Janiashvili then considers how the practice of traditional law in Svaneti during the Soviet era still impacts contemporary practices. Finally, and on a more sociological note, Elke Kamm examines the practice of bride kidnapping as a dowry-avoiding alternative to traditional marriage, while Natia Jabaladze studies the custom of blood feud among Svan migrants in the region of Kvemo-Kartli, which remains more alive in the self-representation of Svans rather than an actual practice.