SAAKASHVILI MUST STAND TRIAL
In: The current digest of the post-Soviet press, Band 68, Heft 18-019, S. 15-16
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In: The current digest of the post-Soviet press, Band 68, Heft 18-019, S. 15-16
In: The current digest of the post-Soviet press, Band 69, Heft 32, S. 16-17
Following the collapse of Communist regimes across Eurasia, ecuritization became a pressing problem for newly emerging democracies as ruling elites in many post-Soviet states used securitization as a shield for retaining power. This study is based on case study analyses and has two objectives: to highlight the dynamics of Georgia's securitization process, and to show how this process corresponds to existing theoretical and empirical experience. It is evident that the formulation of threat perceptions and the decision making process in Georgia have been constructed and dominated by the elite of the United National Movement(UNM). Georgia's move under Saakashvili's regime on securitization has been fairly controversial – it has been responsible for both the rise and then the fall of his regime. During the last decade, Georgia under Saakashvili's rule has represented a bright illustration of the beginning of a successful and then failed securitization process. Research shows thatsecuritization can be successful in the short run and is particularly likely to succeed in post-communist and Eurocentric countries, ruled by authoritarian or "competitive authoritarian regimes". However, in the long run, securitization leads to the curbing of basic freedoms and the introduction of far-reaching extraordinary measures in the name of security cannot sustain itself and inevitably fails.
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In: The current digest of the post-Soviet press, Band 69, Heft 37, S. 12-13
In: The current digest of the post-Soviet press, Band 69, Heft 37, S. 13-13
In: Nations and nationalism: journal of the Association for the Study of Ethnicity and Nationalism, Band 24, Heft 4, S. 1185-1206
ISSN: 1469-8129
AbstractAfter the 2003 Rose Revolution, the Georgian government strove to integrate its disaffected Armenian and Azeri minorities, settled in southern Georgia across the border from their kin states. This article sheds novel light on this nationalisation drive. It argues that the centre's nation‐building entrepreneurs – the Mississippdaleulni – laboured to spur minorities in the ethnic enclaves first to interact with the heartland and then to adapt to its language. Officials invested in infrastructure and extended the state's clout into the borderlands so as to foster inter‐ethnic contacts. In tandem, the authorities promoted the Georgian language in the civil service, demoted the Russian tongue, and acculturated pupils to the state language. This nationalisation drive, I conclude, drew upon the same set of tools that Eugen Weber recorded French authorities as using in the opposite corner of Europe centuries ago.
In: Journal of democracy, Band 27, Heft 1, S. 110-123
ISSN: 1086-3214
Abstract: This paper looks at Georgia's path to reform in 2004–2012. The author argues that the young, ideologically and structurally cohesive elite capitalized on the window of opportunity and implemented "big bang" reform in 2004–2008. As time passed, the new incumbents developed vested interests that became apparent with the reemergence of a state-business nexus reemerged in 2008–2012. During the Saakashvili administration, these interests undermined market competition, and elite networks used state power to control economic and political structures. Even though concerns over particularistic practices have remained, petty bribery has decreased substantially.
In: Caucasus survey: journal of the International Association for the Study of the Caucasus, Band 5, Heft 1, S. 51-64
ISSN: 2376-1202
World Affairs Online
В статье рассматриваются расклад политических сил перед парламентскими выборами в Грузии 2016 г., их ход и итоги, а также влияние на текущее состояние российско-грузинских отношений. За 25 лет грузинская политическая система прошла непростой путь становления. К началу 2010-х гг. в стране фактически сложилась однопартийная система, на базе которой и сформировался режим М. Саакашвили. Но на парламентских выборах 2012 г. система рухнула. Вопреки многочисленным прогнозам, победила новая политическая сила оппозиционная коалиция «Грузинская мечта» во главе с Б. Иванишвили. Тем не менее выборы 2016 г. показали, что старая система воспроизводится: речь снова идет о доминировании одной политической партии, обладающей при этом невнятной идеологией и программой. Главное достоинство «Грузинской мечты» ее прагматизм и реалистичность. Проигравшие же политические силы оказались в ситуации глубокого и практически безвыходного кризиса. Однако перед правящей партией стоят серьезные вызовы. Грузинская экономика переживает не лучшие времена. Перспективы интеграции страны в западное экономическое и военно-политическое пространство также неочевидны. Отношения с Россией, несмотря на ряд положительных тенденций, имеют ряд существенных политических ограничений, которые вынуждена учитывать любая политическая сила, оказавшаяся у власти в Грузии. Диаметрально противоположные позиции Москвы и Тбилиси в отношении проблемы Абхазии и Южной Осетии не позволяют надеяться на фундаментальные изменения в политическом диалоге, который находится в полузамороженном состоянии.The article deals with the distribution of political forces before the parliamentary elections in Georgia in 2016, their process and results, their influence on the current status of the relations between Georgia and Russia. For 25 years, Georgian political system has passed a difficult way of development. By the early 2010s in fact the country had developed a one-party system on the basis of which the regime of Saakashvili was formed. However, at the parliamentary elections in 2012 the system collapsed. Contrary to numerous predictions a new political force "Georgian Dream " led by V Ivanishvili won. Nevertheless, the elections of 2016 has shown that the old system is recurring: the question is about the dominance of one political party without obvious ideology and program. The main advantage of "Georgian Dream" is its pragmatism and realism. The defeated political forces have tackled a situation of deep and almost desperate crisis. However, the ruling party is facing serious challenges. The Georgian economy is going through hard times. The perspectives of integration in western economic, military and political space for the country is unobvious. The relations with Russia despite some positive tendencies have some significant political constraints which every ruling political force in Georgia shall take into consideration. Diametrically opposite positions of Moscow and Tbilisi related to the problem of Abkhazia and South Ossetia do not allow to expect a fundamental change in the political dialogue which has a semi-frozen status.
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In: Politique internationale: pi, Heft 147
ISSN: 0221-2781
An interview with Eka Zguladze, Vice-Minister of the Interior of the Ukrainian government since 2014. It's a huge challenge, she decided to take up without hesitation. At 36, Georgian Eka Zguladze was appointed Deputy Interior Minister in the new Government of Ukraine, December 17, 2014. It is part of foreign reformers called by the Chairman Petro Poroshenko to carry out its reform program and avoid collusion between politicians and the business community - and this in a country where corruption remains endemic. Among them, former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is responsible for overseeing all the reforms while American Natalie Jaresko was given the finance portfolio. Adapted from the source document.
In: Nationalities papers: the journal of nationalism and ethnicity, Band 44, Heft 5, S. 694-712
ISSN: 1465-3923
Since the Rose Revolution (2003), Georgia has encountered an unprecedented scale of institutional reforms concomitant with the rise of American and European involvement in the "democratization" process. Various scholars have suggested that Georgian nationalism developed from an ethno-cultural basis to a more civic/liberal orientation after the Rose Revolution. This paper analyzes Georgian nationalism under President Mikheil Saakashvili to demonstrate the significant divergence between political rhetoric on national identity, the selection of symbols, and state policy toward the Georgian Orthodox Church versus state policy toward ethnic minorities. The aim of this article is to examine the at times conflicting conceptions of national identity as reflected in the public policies of Saakashvili's government since the Rose Revolution. It attempts to problematize the typologies of nationalism when applied to the Georgian context and suggests conceptualizing the state-driven nationalism of the post-Rose Revolution government as "hybrid nationalism" as opposed to civic or ethno-cultural.
In this work we've studied the peculiarities of use of the opponent's disqualification strategy in the French and Georgian pre-election political discourse and also we've analyzed how much the difference between the countries in terms of the levels of development (France as the developed democratic country and Georgia as the developing, post soviet country) defines the specificity of the above strategy. We studied the discourses said by the French politicians, Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande, and the Georgian politicians Mikheil Saakashvili and Bidzina Ivanishvili in 2012. The study was based on the argumentative, contrast and interdisciplinary methods. The analysis results showed that the approach of the French politicians to the opposition is much more balanced in the French discourse and is limited by light allegations compared with the Georgian one, while the heavy allegations are heard in the Georgian discourse in respect to the opponent that is stipulated by still undeveloped democratic institutions in the country.
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In: Slovak journal of political sciences: the journal of University of Saint Cyril and Metodius in Trnava = Slovenská politologická revue, Band 17, Heft 2, S. 222-240
ISSN: 1335-9096
The article is dedicated to analyse the politics of so called "historical memory" during the state-building and nation-building process in post-socialist Georgia After the Rose Revolution 2003, the new government that aimed at building the "new Georgia," implementing radical changes in many key spheres, including institutions, readdressing the totalitarian past, faced number of problematic manifestations in political and cultural life in this post-Soviet country. The "politics of memory" became one of the key factors of reconstructing of "new, democratic, western Georgia". This process can be evaluated as leading toward state nationalism. Analyzing the politics of memory, symbolism is the most notable attitude and that is why former President Mikheil Saakashvili used commemorative ceremonies continuously. The authors argue in favour of approach, that the so called "memory politics" is the integral part of one's legitimacy building, but at the same time, it can be used as tool for reconsidering of Polity's future and mobilization of population under the "citizenship" umbrella towards the strong loyalty to the actual and future state-building.
In: Nationalities papers: the journal of nationalism and ethnicity, Band 44, Heft 4, S. 522-542
ISSN: 1465-3923
After the Rose Revolution, President Saakashvili tried to move away from the exclusionary nationalism of the past, which had poisoned relations between Georgians and their Armenian and Azerbaijani compatriots. His government instead sought to foster an inclusionary nationalism, wherein belonging was contingent upon speaking the state language and all Georgian speakers, irrespective of origin, were to be equals. This article examines this nation-building project from a top-down and bottom-up lens. I first argue that state officials took rigorous steps to signal that Georgian-speaking minorities were part of the national fabric, but failed to abolish religious and historical barriers to their inclusion. I next utilize a large-scale, matched-guise experiment (n= 792) to explore if adolescent Georgians ostracize Georgian-speaking minorities or embrace them as their peers. I find that the upcoming generation of Georgians harbor attitudes in line with Saakashvili's language-centered nationalism, and that current Georgian nationalism therefore is more inclusionary than previous research, or Georgia's tumultuous past, would lead us to believe.
In: Journal of Eurasian studies, Band 6, Heft 2, S. 161-170
ISSN: 1879-3673
In recent years Russia has launched a concerted effort to undermine pro-Western regimes in the former Soviet area by using economic sanctions. Most studies of this economic offensive have focused on Russia's obvious use of natural gas as a political weapon. This paper adds to that literature by showing how the Kremlin in fact uses many kinds of sanctions simultaneously. The case of Georgia illustrates this clearly. To undermine President Saakashvili Moscow used not only energy sanctions, but also trade and financial sanctions, as well as restrictions on Georgian migrant workers. As this case shows, democratic regimes may be particularly vulnerable to such economic sanctions, since even a relatively small economic decline can cause an incumbent to lose an election. The Russian effort in Georgia seems to have succeeded, as Saakashvili's party was driven from office in the 2012 and 2013 elections by Georgian Dream, a new coalition founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia. However, Ivanishvili has now found that he, too, faces Russian economic pressure.