In Central and Eastern Europe, experience shows that democratization has better chances where linkages to the West are strong and ideological alternatives, such as Russian-style “managed democracy” or authoritarianism, are weak,… Read more »
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently appealed for a “Marshall Plan” to rebuild war-scarred Ukraine, Deutsche Welle reports. Unlike its predecessor, which rebuilt… Read more »
The ruling Georgian Dream party’s anti-Western rhetoric and democratic backsliding has diverted Georgia down a road away from its key Western allies, argues analyst Ghia Nodia, professor of politics in… Read more »
Thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi on Sunday to demand snap polls after the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in a parliamentary vote,… Read more »
This weekend’s election in Georgia is seen as a litmus test of legitimacy for the ruling Georgian Dream Party (GD) and as a referendum on party leader Bidzina Ivanishvili’s oligarchic… Read more »
In 1911, Robert Michels (1876-1936), an Italian political sociologist, published “Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy,” postulating the “iron law of oligarchy.” Michels, who… Read more »
Georgia “is a trailblazer for democracy in the Caucasus region” but it needs support from the West in order to maintain its liberal democratic trajectory, says president-elect Salomé Zourabichvili. “During… Read more »
With the advance of modernization, nationalism was supposed to fade away. Yet even in advanced democracies, nationalism’s influence seems larger than ever. What did we get wrong? analyst Ghia Nodia… Read more »
Nationalism paired with democracy makes for a difficult marriage, but any prospect of divorce is wishful thinking, according to a leading scholar. Like religion, nationalism was supposed to wither away… Read more »
The ruling Georgian Dream party won a decisive victory in weekend elections, Transitions Online reports: Georgian Dream captured about 48.6 percent of the vote, and the opposition UNM a distant second… Read more »