Georgia

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. 

The migration agreement between Germany and Georgia has been in place since December 2023, and Georgia has been considered a safe country of origin for just as long. However, the increasingly repressive policies in Tbilisi make it necessary to rethink the German view of the country.

The ruling Georgian Dream party won Georgia’s 2024 parliamentary elections by engaging in election manipulation, adopting the classical illiberal-authoritarian playbook. The EU must now insist on an independent investigation.

The Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence hinders Georgian accession to the EU and has drawn massive protests by Georgian society. In this context we asked three questions to Dr. Sonja Schiffers, Director of our South Caucasus office in Tbilisi, on how she views the latest developments.

Georgia and the EU are standing at a historic crossroads. Which factors affect their abilities to bring the membership bid on track, and what should the EU’s response look like?

The neoliberal political elite are uninterested in the needs of a society stricken by a pandemic. Their egotism favours informal structures leading to a creeping "Russification" of the country.

Georgia’s escalating political turbulence highlights a crisis in institutional legitimacy in the country. This democratic deficit risks dragging the country into autocratic rule and reproducing the worst elements of its northern neighbour.

Julia Kharashvili a woman who witnessed war, escaped from it, empowered herself and managed to empower other women around her - thirty years of commitment to peacebuilding and security.