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

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...
Read More

Deterring Russia’s Borderization of Georgia

Joseph Larsen  “In the 21st century we have seen a tendency toward blurring the lines between the states of war and peace. Wars are no longer declared and, having begun, proceed according to an unfamiliar template.” – General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federat...
Read More

What Has The United States Done for Georgia Lately?

Joseph Larsen* Most observers expected U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s recent visit to Georgia to follow a tight script: Show up, reaffirm the U.S. commitment to Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, eat some khinkali and khachapuri, and leave. For the most part, that’s what Pence ...
Read More

How Should Georgia Respond to Russia’s Borderization?

What tools are available for Georgia to respond to Russia’s borderization of the administrative boundary lines demarcating Abkhazia and South Ossetia? What is the most appropriate and effective response for Georgia to take? On July 3, Russian soldiers moved the barbed wire fence demarcating th...
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

Russian Soft Power: Balancing the Propaganda – Threats and Challenges

Elene Panchulidze June 2017 / Issue #5 The use of Russian Soft Power and propaganda for the purpose of realizing foreign policy objectiveshas become increasingly noticeable in different parts of the world. Russian Soft Power in line with state-developed and controlled propaganda is commonly used to ...
Read More

German Foreign Policy Explained

Silvia Stöber  Georgia continues to make progress in Euro-Atlantic integration. In 2014 it signed an Association Agreement with the European Union and received a Substantial Package from NATO, and this year its citizens gained the right to travel visa-free within the Schengen area....
Read More