Publications

Nino Samkharadze

The dramatic 2020 USA presidential elections are finally over with Joe Biden having defeated Donald Trump. [i] A new administration means new conditions for USA foreign relations in general, and of importance to us, Georgia. This piece focuses on the revitalization of traditional alliances, the promotion of democratic values beyond the USA, and Biden’s expected stance with Russia, all of which impact strategic relations between Washington and Tbilisi. (more…)

Levan Kakhishvili, Salome Minesashvili, Nino Samkharadze, Salome Kandelaki

The first of the four documents, but by no means in terms of importance, is authored by Levan Kakhishvili and asks an important question: Do ethnic minorities benefit from Georgia’s Europeanization? In this document, Levan Kakhishvili explores how minority communities perceive Europeanization and associated benefits tangible and intangible, which is followed by a discussion on what barriers minority communities face to fully enjoy these benefits. (more…)

This Polish Decentralisation Guidebook aims at presenting in a synthetic way the experience of Poland regarding the re-introduction of local government and the decentralisation process since 1989. Its main goal is to provide representatives of central and regional authorities, experts, and representatives of opinion-forming circles in Armenia and Georgia with relevant information and knowledge. The idea of the authors of this Guidebook was to facilitate mutual learning between the countries, the exchange of good practices, and lessons learned. (more…)

Lozka Katsiaryna

Working Paper, November 2020 / #11

Over the last two decades the European Union (EU) has been criticised for its rather limited role as a security actor in the conflicts in its Eastern neighbourhood, prioritizing the areas of “low politics” (Popescu 2010). It has partly been explained by the intergovernmental foreign policy and lack of a united stand versus Moscow. How do these constraints impact EU activities as a mediator and what role does the EU play in conflict mediation? (more…)

Expert Comment #13 | October, 2020

In democracies, opinion polls are a vital tool which offers politicians, parties, legislators and policy-makers a unique glance at the views and preferences of the public. In recent months, the Georgian public has been bombarded with the results of various opinion polls. In addition to polls conducted by the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI), which have long provided the Georgian public and political actors with such data, a number of TV stations and political parties have decided to launch, and publish, the results of their own public opinion surveys. (more…)

Adriana Stephan

Far-right groups have the potential to influence political agendas through narratives that hold both resonance and normative impact. Even absent formal political power or access to mainstream media, far-right groups can shape public discourse. Growing distrust towards political institutions, a highly-polarized political atmosphere, and an increasingly fraught information space provide fertile ground for far-right narratives to thrive in the runup to and during the October parliamentary elections. (more…)

Levan Kakhishvili

Issues related to foreign policy become salient on a regular basis in pre-election contexts in Georgia. Against the background of the upcoming parliamentary elections in October 2020, however, at least three parties have started to advocate for military neutrality or non-alignment as an optimal option for Georgian foreign policy. These parties include Alliance of Patriots of Georgia (APG) (see, Patriots.ge 2020), United Georgia (UG) (see, Liberali 2016), and Free Georgia (FG) (see, Freegeorgia,ge 2020). (more…)

Kornely Kakachia, Bidzina Lebanidze, Shalva Dzebisashvili 

Since the 2008 Russia-Georgia War NATO-Georgia relations have been in limbo. While NATO has never formally closed its doors on Georgia, the alliance has become more skeptical of enlargement and warier of Russian interests. While Georgia’s practical NATO integration has continued to deepen, it still remains below the threshold of membership. This policy paper maps the main interests, mismatches, perceptions and misperceptions in the relations between NATO and Georgia. (more…)

The following manifesto was prepared within the framework of the project #GEOYOUTH2020 – “Engaging Youth in Politics in Georgia”, which was implemented by the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) in partnership with the German grassroots think tank Polis180 and with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office. The initiative “Engaging Youth in Politics in Georgia” (May-September 2020) brought together over 150 participants across ten regional summits. (more…)

This year is vitally important for Georgia’s democratic consolidation. The 2020 Parliamentary elections are a test which will determine the country’s political dynamic for the next decade. Despite the progress achieved with the help of the international community, several factors currently damage Georgia’s social-political environment. (more…)

Levan Kakhishvili

Georgia’s Europeanization has resulted in opportunities and both tangible and intangible benefits for Georgian society at large. However, as ethnic minorities are poorly integrated into Georgian social and political life, it is important to explore to what extent minority communities can access and enjoy these opportunities and benefits. This paper views Europeanization as formal rule transfer through a policy of conditionality and investigates how minorities perceive its consequences. (more…)

Salome Kandelaki

The political integration of ethnic minorities is a complex process, and as Georgia remains a transitional democracy it still has a long way to go. Quality political participation of Azerbaijani and Armenian minorities at the national level remains a challenge. In Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti regions ethnic minorities have negligible impact on political decisions. Particularly, older generations of ethnic minorities, the majority of whom do not speak Georgian, are not informed about Georgia’s domestic or foreign policy priorities, and are subject to the unequal treatment. (more…)