The author, a former senior United Nations official
stationed in Sukhumi and Tbilisi, tells the stories of
people in Abkhazia and Georgia proper, intertwined
with astute and timely analysis of the ...ver maisThe author, a former senior United Nations official
stationed in Sukhumi and Tbilisi, tells the stories of
people in Abkhazia and Georgia proper, intertwined
with astute and timely analysis of the political events
that have shaped the small Caucasus nation in the years
since she gained her independence—from the rise and
fall of Shevardnadze, the hero of perestroika and the
West’s favourite “democrat”, to the era of Saakashvili,
the proclaimed “beacon of democracy”, increasingly
authoritarian and challenged by a discontented public.
The analysis is also anchored in Georgia’s history and
collective memory, indelibly marked by the lasting
impact of the brutal rule of Stalin and Beria and the
ever-present shadow and interference of Russia.
Dr. Gierycz has had a long and distinguished career in international affairs, peacekeeping,
conflict resolution, human rights and gender equality. She worked at the United Nations,
serving in senior positions at its headquarters in both Vienna and New York and in
numerous missions around the world, to include the United Nations Missions in Bosnia-
Herzegovina (2001 to 2003) and Liberia (2004-2007) where she also represented the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Dr. Gierycz holds an MA in public international law and a Ph.D in political science
from Warsaw University, in her native Poland. She further studied at the Academy
of International Law in The Hague, Georgetown, Columbia, and Brown Universities
in the United States. Dr. Gierycz has also authored numerous academic articles.
She regularly teaches and conducts research at leading universities and institutions
around the world, including the European Inter-University Centre for Human
Rights and Democratisation (EIUC) in Venice, Italy, and the Norwegian Institute
of International Affairs (NUPI) in Oslo, Norway, working on issues of Transitional
Justice and the Responsibility to Protect.
She is also currently associated with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights,
University of Vienna, Webster University, Vienna and European Peace University (EPU),
Schlaining, Austria. Dr. Gierycz presently resides in Vienna and New York.ver menos