The State based on the Westphalian sovereignty is the foundation of the contemporary international system. However, in a time of failed states, globalization, military intervention justified on a humanitarian base, and increasingly relevant non-state actors, one can reasonably wonder: What is statehood? What affects statehood? And, what happens when a state comes up short?

This paper explores first the contemporary and historical literature defining statehood. The Montevideo Convention defines a full expression of statehood, but what of states that do not fulfill these requirements in either a practical or juridical manner? Theories of black states, para-states, quasi-states and black holes are briefly explored within this preliminary discussion of statehood. From this understanding of theoretical and normative statehood, the paper explores then the extent to which the requirements of statehood have been fulfilled in the Republic of Georgia since independence in December 1991. This analysis presents the challenges and implications of the Gamsakhurdia, Shevardnadze and Saakashvili administrations on Georgian statehood, as well as the particular challenges posed by de-Sovietisation, conflicts in Abkhaz, South Ossetian and Ajara, the Rose Revolution and the August 2008 War. This study contributes to our understanding of the complex security dynamics of the South Caucasus and, in a much broader sense, delivers general conclusions about the relationship between weak states and security in the international system. Theses conclusions are critical since other comparable situations can learn lessons from the Georgian case. Understanding of the challenges faced by relatively new states in consolidating elements of statehood will strengthen our understanding of emerging new states, and their potential to succeed in the international system.