Chart 2: Caucasus Barometer. Available at: https://caucasusbarometer.org/en/nd2020ge/IMPAPPP/

Moreover, in parallel with ongoing protests in Tbilisi, recently emerged economic and environmental problems connected to the construction of the Namakhvani Hydropower Plant, have led to a large-scale rally in Western Georgia. These protests show once again that issue-based problems might prove more important for the public than the polarization and radicalization of the political realm.  

Discussion around these issues is important as civil, political, and international society is actively looking for a solution to Georgia’s ongoing political crisis. However, various systemic factors get in the way of political stability. Against this background, the data shows that the high degree of political personalization, the replacing of issue-based discussion with negative rhetoric, and misperceptions regarding the electorate’s demand for a polarized political environment are factors which get in the way of a healthy environment for political dialogue between parties.