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  • Bidzina Lebanidze

    Dr.Bidzina Lebanidze is the visiting lecturer at Berlin School of Economics and Law, researcher at Free University of Berlin and associated fellow at Kolleg-Forschergruppe “The Transformative Power of Europe”. Since 2014 he has been conducting a research within the FP7 project MAXCAP (Maximizing the integration capacity of the European Union). He obtained his PhD degree in political science from Free University of Berlin, and Master’s degree in international relations from Tbilisi State University. Previously, he also worked for the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation and lectured at Ilia State University

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11/03/2019 Bidzina Lebanidze

Rise of Nationalist Populism in Georgia: Implications for European Integration

Publish Date:
11-03-2019

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 to progressive and liberal-democratic values which are part of EU’s normative script. So far its impact on the actual process of Georgia’s European integration has been rather negligible, however. Georgia remains the most pro-European state among the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries, with more than 80% of population supporting the country’s EU membership. The few controversial steps taken by the Georgian government to accommodate populist nationalism has not significantly damaged the process of country’s functional and institutional approximation to the EU, either. Nevertheless, in the long run, the further strengthening of populist nationalism can undermine the normative and functional foundations of Georgia’s democratic development and European integration, as has been a case in other countries. It can weaken the permissive consensus among Georgian citizens and force the populist Eurosceptic agenda on the government and other reform actors.

[1]Bidzina Lebanidze – Senior Policy Analyst, Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP)

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Bidzina Lebanidze

Dr.Bidzina Lebanidze is the visiting lecturer at Berlin School of Economics and Law, researcher at Free University of Berlin and associated fellow at Kolleg-Forschergruppe “The Transformative Power of Europe”. Since 2014 he has been conducting a research within the FP7 project MAXCAP (Maximizing the integration capacity of the European Union). He obtained his PhD degree in political science from Free University of Berlin, and Master’s degree in international relations from Tbilisi State University. Previously, he also worked for the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation and lectured at Ilia State University