Open Government Partnership (OGP) through the citizens’ lens – Why do we need OGP more than we think?

Ketevan Goletiani According to the 2018 Freedom House report, Georgia remains classified as a hybrid regime with an aggregated score of 64 out of 100. Despite improvements in recent years, the country has faced setbacks in democratic development in terms of informal governance; the impact of oligarc...
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GIP held discussions in Georgian regions about Democratization and Europeanization challenges in Georgia

On 19-28 June, the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) held discussions in Georgian regions about Democratization and Europeanization challenges in Georgia. Telavi, Batumi, Kutaisi and Gori Centers for Civic Engagement hosted GIP director – Kornely Kakachia and policy analysts – Levan Kakhishvi...
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Church and Politics or Church in Politics: How does the Georgian Orthodox Church Impact Georgia’s European Integration Policy?

Vladimer Narsia This policy brief analyzes the role of the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) in Georgian society, particularly in the context of promoting the European integration process. The paper consists of three sections: sermons and preaching that influence European integration policy; the Church...
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GIP Hosted International Conference – “Democratization and Europeanization Agenda During Uncertain times: Georgia in Focus” #GEODEM2018

While Georgia has made an impressive progress on Europeanization agenda, its capacity to consolidate democracy is still uncertain. To discuss the prospects and challenges of Georgia’s democratization and Europeanization, on 2 May, 2018, the Georgian Institute of Politics with support of the Nation...
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Compendium of Policy Briefs 2018

Bidzina Lebanidze, Joseph Larsen, Levan Kakhishvili, Ivanna Machitidze Consisting of four policy briefs, the publication introduces policy recommendations on major aspects of Georgia’s Europeanization and democratization agenda,  particularly on the influence of Western political conditionality o...
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Causing Trouble for Democracies: Should Georgia Look West to Learn Russia’s Strategy?

Ivanna Machitidze The combination of democratic promotion and democratic consolidation has long become a catch phrase for states to be recognized as high-achievers and their societies to be labelled as free. The West, the driving force of both processes, has underestimated the risk that the fruits o...
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Democratic consolidation in Georgia: Why does consensus matter?

Levan Kakhishvili The lack of democratic consolidation in Georgia has become an increasingly important challenge against the background of rising populism and democratic backsliding in Europe and North America. It is widely believed that the European Union’s (EU) policy of conditionality has been ...
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The Georgian Orthodox Church as a Civil Actor: Challenges and Capabilities

Salome Minesashvili Religious organizations as civil actors with social capital can play significant roles in social reform processes, examples of which being the African Church in South Africa and representatives of the Catholic Church in Latin America. The Importance of churches as civil actors...
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