Please join the Russia and Eurasia Program at The Fletcher School for a conversation with Zurab Khonelidze, Rector of Sokhumi State University in Tbilisi, Georgia, on his latest book The Georgian Paradigm of Peace (2021). He will speak on the concept of University Diplomacy that he developed, the domestic politics and foreign policy of Georgia, and multilateral peacebuilding in the South Caucasus. The event is open to the public. Please make sure to register via myFletcher to participate in the event in person. Refreshments will be served. Click here to register.

Zurab Khonelidze is Rector of the Sokhumi State University (SSU). Khonelidze is a graduate of the Faculty of History and Law of the Tbilisi Ivane Javakhishvili State University. Since becoming the Rector of the SSU, Khonelidze led the effort to develop the concept of University Diplomacy, which has become a flagship academic program in the SSU and has increasingly been shared among academic institutions in Georgia. As a passionate educator, Khonelidze deeply believes that education can serve as an intellectual bridge among societies torn by ethnic strife. He has authored an important work on Georgia and regional politics titled The Georgian Paradigm of Peace (2021), where he makes a significant contribution to the intellectual milieu of the field of international relations and offers the South Caucasus as a geopolitical space open to be explored by the United States and the regional powers as a platform for peace. Prior to joining the SSU, Khonelidze served as a diplomat and is an honorary recipient of the diplomatic rank of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Common Wealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Head of the Diplomatic Mission of Georgia to Belarus. He was awarded the highest diplomatic title by the government of Georgia in 1997.