How negative are elections, and does it matter? Mapping the use of negative campaigning in elections across the world.

Dr. Alessandro Nai[1] The report by an international monitoring commission for the 2018 Presidential election in Georgia concluded that the November runoff “was marred by harsh rhetoric”, and that “the negative character of the campaign on both sides undermined the process.”[2]...
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GIP Commentary: When an Election Damages Democracy: Lessons from the 2018 Georgia’s Presidential Election 

Kornely Kakachia, Bidzina Lebanidze Georgia’s recent presidential elections exposed many of the problems that have been aggravating the country’s democratization process over the last few years. By electing the country’s first female president, Georgia has made one step forward — but the...
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Media Polarization: A Challenge for Georgian Democracy?

Irakli Jgharkava As Georgia prepares for the second round of the presidential elections, media polarization in the country has become more and more of an issue, posing an immediate threat to democracy. Acrimonious and politicizing, it is splitting Georgian society into two camps — supporters versu...
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German Elections 2017: Continuity at the Top, a Looming Disaster from Below

Silvia Stöber “Boring” is a word often used to describe the ongoing election campaign in Germany. The campaign will conclude on September 24 when the citizens elect new members to the Bundestag. A new government will be formed according to the results.           At first glance, not m...
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Elections 2017: Rocking the Dutch Boat

Jelger Groeneveld Board Member, International Security & Defense division, D66 liberal democratic party, Netherlands Would the Netherlands be the first domino to fall to populism in mainland Europe’s election season? That was the main focus of international media last week, despite the fact th...
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Single Party Rule Returns to Georgia

Joseph Larsen and Bidzina Lebanidze GIP Analysts Single party rule is returning to Georgia. The ruling Georgian Dream party won 48 of 50 runoff elections for majoritarian electoral districts on October 30....
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