Observers Warn Georgia’s Democracy is Deteriorating

Expert Polls #10, Georgian Institute of Politics, December 2019. The Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) conducted its tenth expert poll from December 6 to 20. Twenty-three Georgian and international scholars and political observers answered questions about democratization and recent political dyna...
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Democratic backsliding in Georgia?

Levan Kakhishvili Originally posted by Institute for European Politics (IEP) There is a long tradition in Georgia of reforming the electoral system. Each government has tried to adjust the system in a way that would help to guarantee the preservation of its own power. In June 2019, against the backg...
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Does EU have role in stopping backsliding in Georgia?

Kornely Kakachia, Bidzina Lebanidze  Originally posted by EUobserver The EU’s eastern neighbourhood is in flux. The collapse of the pro-reform government in Moldova and the stagnation of anti-corruption reforms in Ukraine was recently followed yet by another political crisis in Georgia....
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From “peaceful protests” to “manifestation of depravity”: How did the Georgian Dream present the June crisis to the public?

Levan Kakhishvili In the context of democratization and democratic consolidation, internal political crises, caused by either external shocks or dynamics in the domestic arena, pose a significant challenge to the stability of the Georgian political system. Such crises can jeopardize not only interna...
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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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Good Fences Make Good Neighbors: How Georgia Can Resist Authoritarian Pressure

Joseph Larsen Georgia is at a crossroads regarding its democratic development and European Union (EU) integration. Despite being a poster child for democratization in the post-Soviet space, its progress in consolidating democratic institutions has stagnated since the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party...
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Assessment of 2017 by Georgian and international experts

The Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) conducted a survey to sum up 2017 as part of the “expert polls” project. The poll collected opinions and assessments about the ongoing political and economic processes in the country and its future prospects from 20 well-informed Georgian and internationa...
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GIP project: Expert polls provided highly accurate forecasts of local election outcomes

Last year, Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) launched a new method of social surveys – expert polls. Similar polls are widely used in the West, and particularly in the United States. They provide a high level of accuracy in forecasting elections and varying political processes. GIP’s expert ...
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Experts Predict Easy Victory for Ruling Party in Local Elections

GIP Expert Polls / Issue #5 The Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) continues to survey engaged Georgian and international experts on issues of great importance. This October, GIP asked 30 experts and political observers about the imminent local self-government elections. The majority of surveyed ...
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Can a Third Way Movement Emerge in Georgian Politics?

Givi Silagadze* Georgia’s 2016 parliamentary elections were a major coup for the Georgian Dream party (GD), which won 115 of 150 seats (76.67%). It did so despite receiving the support of only 24.37% of voters, revealing two problems that continue to afflict Georgian party politics: a heavily majo...
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