Compendium of Policy Briefs 2019

Salome Minesashvili, Levan Kakhishvili,Bidzina Lebanidze, Nino Robakidze The four policy briefs in the publication introduce policy recommendations to tackle the trust crisis, polarization, and populism in Georgia. In particular, the publication focuses on the effect the decreasing level of trust in...
Read More

Rise of Nationalist Populism in Georgia: Implications for European Integration

Bidzina Lebanidze[1] This policy brief explores to what extent the rising wave of populist nationalism in Georgia affects the process of Georgia’s approximation to the EU. Normatively speaking, the populist nationalist discourse in Georgia is Eurosceptic as it legitimizes itself through opposition...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

Avoiding Gridlock: a Strategy for Georgia to Engage with Eurosceptic Europe

Bidzina Lebanidze Elene Panchulidze While EU’s door remains open to further accessions from Western Balkan countries, with current state, EU lacks the political will to give the same promise to EaP countries. For the Union the main dilemma is how to treat countries that are European but lack an im...
Read More

Life Without EU Membership: The Case for a Multi-Speed EaP

Bidzina Lebanidze The recent Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit in Brussels highlighted once again the gap between the expectations of the Eastern partners and the European Union. The advanced Eastern partner countries aspire for nothing less than full EU membership – something which the European Co...
Read More

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Georgia and the Candidates for German Chancellor

Bidzina Lebanidze* Germany’s next parliamentary elections will be held on September 24. According to the polls, current Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are set to win the elections once again. However, because of Germany’s political culture and electoral system,...
Read More

Popular Oligarchy: Why the Public Still Supports Georgian Dream

Bidzina Lebanidze* Recent public surveys have confirmed a paradoxical trend in Georgian political life: despite pressing problems, political blunders, and a troubling socio-economic situation, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party remains the most popular political force in Georgia. It has been almos...
Read More

Compendium of Policy Briefs – May 2017

This publication contains five policy briefs, each including recommendations on key issues pertaining to Europeanization and democratization in Georgia: priorities for Georgia’s further integration into Euro-Atlantic structures; the development of stable political party platforms; relations betwe...
Read More

Georgia’s European Integration:What Comes After The Eastern Partnership?

Bidzina Lebanidze This policy brief explores future avenues for EU-Georgia relations going beyond the Eastern Partnership (EaP) but short of full EU membership. Enlargement fatigue coupled with economic and migration crises and the resultant rise of far-right groups puts additional pressure on the E...
Read More