Georgia’s Dangerous Slide Away From Democracy
(Carnegie Europe) (Co-authored with Bidzina Lebanidze) The EU should help Georgia overcome its latest political crisis and in that way invest in the further democratization and stability of the wider…
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Georgia
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Does EU have role in stopping backsliding in Georgia?
(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…
Kakachia: Ivanishvili’s rivalry with Saakashvili has escalated into a dangerous zero-sum game
(Global Voices) Protests continue in Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi after the ruling Georgian Dream party reneged on a promise for electoral reform. On at least two occasions last week, police used…
Kakachia: If the pro-Russia camp prevails in the church, the process of cozying up to Moscow will intensify
(Eurasianet) An angry archpriest, his clerical headgear disheveled, stormed out of the holy see of the Georgian Orthodox Church and declared that the church leader, Patriarch Ilia II, was a “sodomite” and “pederast.”…
The Georgian–Azerbaijani Monastery Dispute and Implications for the South Caucasus Region
(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) Often forgotten among the many post-Soviet border disputes in the Caucasus is one pitting two strategic partners against each other, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The two states have…
Kakachia: There is no easy solution to the David Gareja monastery complex border dispute between Georgia and Azerbaijan
(Reuters) UDABNO, Georgia, Sept 4 – Standing near an ancient monastery perched on a rocky ridge in southeast Georgia, armed border guards keep a watchful eye over tourists visiting the site,…
Kakachia: Traditionally, Georgian trust in any single political force or leader expires after two terms.
(Eurasianet) Georgia’s top banker has signaled his intention to enter politics and take on the country’s top businessman, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party. Mamuka Khazaradze’s…
Kakachia: Because of the unclear situation in DC, Georgia is not at the top of the priority list and that makes Georgians a little bit nervous
(Eurasianet) As Georgia finds itself in the deepest crisis with Russia since the 2008 war between the two countries, Tbilisi’s closest ally, the United States, has been conspicuously quiet. The Kremlin…
Troitskiy on the Russia-Georgia war in 2008
(U.S.-Russia Relations: Quest for Stability) The Soviet collapse fueled violent separatism within Georgia. Two of its semi-autonomous regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, declared independence and successfully sought Moscow’s informal patronage. In…
Kakachia: When a Georgian political force is losing popularity, it tries to borrow popularity from the Church
(Eurasianet) Legend has it that after Jesus ascended to heaven, the Virgin Mary and the disciples drew lots in Jerusalem to pick the lands where they would spread the word of…