Publications

Expert Polls #10, Georgian Institute of Politics, December 2019.

The Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) conducted its tenth expert poll from December 6 to 20. Twenty-three Georgian and international scholars and political observers answered questions about democratization and recent political dynamics in Georgia. The responses confirmed the overall negative view on Georgia’s political climate. Experts also had some   surprising responses in their assessments of political institutions and actors.  (more…)

The proposed publication was prepared by five Georgian think tanks analyzing Georgia-EU relations. The initiative was backed and coordinated by EU Integration Program of Open Society Georgia Foundation. This is the united effort of representatives of Georgian think tank community to respond to Eastern Partnership Structural consultation launched by European Union in 2019. (more…)

Kornely Kakachia, Bidzina Lebanidze
Originally published by Carnegie Europe

It’s a repetition Georgia could do without.

This strategically important country in the Caucasus has been beset by yet another political crisis. This time, the catalyst was the government’s failure to follow through on its promise to reform Georgia’s electoral system. (more…)

Levan Kakhishvili
Originally posted by Institute for European Politics (IEP)

There is a long tradition in Georgia of reforming the electoral system. Each government has tried to adjust the system in a way that would help to guarantee the preservation of its own power. In June 2019, against the background of public protests, the current ruling party, Georgian Dream (GD), promised that it would amend the constitution in order to hold the 2020 parliamentary elections with a fully proportional voting system, including a natural barrier. (more…)

Kornely Kakachia, Bidzina Lebanidze 
Originally posted by EUobserver

The EU’s eastern neighbourhood is in flux.

The collapse of the pro-reform government in Moldova and the stagnation of anti-corruption reforms in Ukraine was recently followed yet by another political crisis in Georgia.

Expert Comment #9 | November, 2019

On October 15, EU ministers failed to agree to start the talks that could lead to Albania and North Macedonia joining the EU. While a handful of countries opposed the process with respect to Albania, only France vetoed opening talks with North Macedonia. After the meeting, France found itself in the spotlight as the only country that vetoed starting talks with both countries. The day after the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron referred to the system for accepting new members as “bizarre” and called for reforming the procedure. (more…)

Levan Kakhishvili, Donatas Puslys

In the context of democratization and democratic consolidation, internal political crises, caused by either external shocks or dynamics in the domestic arena, pose a significant challenge to the stability of the Georgian political system. Such crises can jeopardize not only internal order but also Georgia’s relations with external actors. Consequently, analyzing the government strategies of crisis management and identifying lessons from failures or successes is key to improving the level of national resilience. (more…)

The infographic was produced within the framework of the project – “Facilitating Effective Visa Liberalization in Georgia, Moldova and Armenia through Experience Sharing“, implemented by the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP, Georgia) together with the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE, Moldova) and the Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC, Armenia).
(more…)

The infographic was produced within the framework of the project – “Facilitating Effective Visa Liberalization in Georgia, Moldova and Armenia through Experience Sharing“, implemented by the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP, Georgia) together with the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE, Moldova) and the Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC, Armenia). (more…)

The infographic was produced within the framework of the project – “Facilitating Effective Visa Liberalization in Georgia, Moldova and Armenia through Experience Sharing“, implemented by the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP, Georgia) together with the Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE, Moldova) and the Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional Cooperation (ACGRC, Armenia).

(more…)

Tatia Dolidze, Iulian Rusu, Stepan Grigoryan 

Visa liberalization with the EU has been one of the most tangible benefits of European integration for several of the EU’s Eastern partner countries and, prior to that, for accession candidates in the Western Balkans. Not only has visa-free travel led to more travel, more personal interactions, and more business contacts; (more…)

Iulian Rusu*

The visa free travel regime with the EU is considered one of the key results of EU-Moldova cooperation since the Eastern Partnership (hereinafter EaP) was launched in May 2009. To date, over 2.1 million Moldovan citizens (over 60% of the population) have travelled to the EU without visas. Moldova continues to respect the requirements for visa free travel to the EU: state-issued documents comply with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) security standards. (more…)