Democracy - articles

This article explores the relationship between identity, heritage, and place in the villages of Akhali Khulgumo and Tambovka near Paravani Lake. It highlights the social change these villages have experienced since 1991. It examines how the interplay between memory of the past and the changing dwelling practices of the Dukhobor houses in Tambovka is constitutive of broader socio-cultural transformations, positioning the two villages also within current (geo)political dynamics and new identity negotiations.

The Kremlin denies sovereignty and territorial integrity not only to Ukraine but also to Georgia. But unlike Ukraine, the ruling Georgian Dream party follows the Russian playbook and uses the Russian threat to maintain authoritarian power. 

Georgia’s 2024 parliamentary elections signal the country’s descent into hegemonic authoritarianism. The ruling Georgian Dream party won by engaging in election manipulation, adopting the classical illiberal-authoritarian playbook, spreading disinformation about simultaneously remaining on the EU enlargement track and instrumentalizing Russia’s threat to the country.

Tigran Amiryan, founder of the Cultural and Social Narratives Laboratory, reflects on the foreign agent law adopted by the Georgian Parliament earlier this year in a broader regional context.

The article discusses the geopolitical and economic implications of the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, which was recently adopted in Georgia despite the loud protest of different societal groups

Just under six months ago, Georgia became a formal candidate for EU membership. The Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence, adopted in mid-May 2024, however, hinders Georgian accession to the EU and has drawn massive protests by Georgian society.

In December 2023, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev surprisingly announced snap presidential elections. Accordingly, Azerbaijani voters will go to the polls on February 7 instead of April 2025. In their analysis, Hamida Giyasbayli provides insights into the complex domestic and foreign policy background of these elections, which clearly signal one thing: the consolidation of authoritarian power.

The article briefly examines the history and experience of Chechen and Kist refugees who have arrived in Georgia since the late 1990s. It also evaluates state policies towards Kist and Chechen refugees from the 2000s till the present day.

The article discusses the peculiarities of capitalist development in Kutaisi, Georgia’s fourth largest city. It offers the author’s observations on the city’s uneven development, labour migration and tourism.

Discussing the example of Tbilisi, the author analyses some of the major challenges facing contemporary urban policy in Georgia, as well as the evolution of ideas and forms of protest that urban movements deploy to address them.