Giorgi Gotua was born in Tbilisi in 1980. From 1997-2001, he studied at Tbilisi State University, graduating with a B.A. in Political Science and a Diploma in Jurisprudence. In 2003 and 2004, Giorgi studied at the Center for Social Studies in Warsaw/ Poland. After finishing university, he was engaged in several NGO projects. Currently, he works as researcher at the Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development and since 2002, Giorgi also is a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences at Tbilisi State University for Western Cultures and Languages. His research interests are political parties.
Giorgi's research project is entitled "Change of regional political elites between 1991 and 2004 - case study one the basis of the Gurjani region".
During the turbulent years which were following the independence movement of the 1980ies, Georgia has witnessed three more or less revolutionary changes of its political regime. These changes were accompanied by replacements in country leadership as well as among leaders on local levels. While groups of supporters of every winning party were often taking power from previous authorities of the region, influential groups from the regions were also finding a way to negotiate and reconcile their interests with the interests of new central authorities. One of the topics which will be explored in this research is the influence of central political elites on the process of formation of local political elites in the regions. Furthermore, factors that are shaping the process of recruitment of local elites will be of concern. The process of change of continuity in local political elites will be observed on the basis of Gurjaani region. For this purpose, several participants and observers of these processes will be interviewed as well as other sources will be explored.