Oliver Reisner

Oliver Reisner is Professor in European and Caucasian Studies at Ilia State University in Tbilisi, Georgia. He is currently a guest researcher at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (February-August 2025) through the JUSTIMINO project. He obtained his Dr. phil. in East European History from Georg-August-University Göttingen in 2000, with a thesis on nation formation in Georgia. From 2000-2003, he coordinated the MA programme 'Central Asia/Caucasus' at Humboldt University Berlin.

His research focuses on:

• Caucasian and European regional studies
• Nation-building processes and Europeanisation
• Religion and civil society development in Georgia
• Social cohesion in urban environments

He leads the research project 'In Search of Social Cohesion in Minor Urban Settings of Georgia' funded by Rustaveli National Science Foundation and serves as co-editor of the 'Caucasian Studies' monograph series at Reichert Verlag Wiesbaden. He regularly contributes country reports for the Bertelsmann Transformation Index.