Georgia's Democratic Crisis: Institutions, Law, and Civic Resistance

Since regaining independence in 1991, Georgia has been regarded as one of the most promising democratic reformers in the post-Soviet region. Nearly three decades later, Georgia is experiencing significant political and institutional strain. Recent legislative developments, tensions between governing institutions, and large-scale public protests have raised concerns about the resilience of democratic safeguards, and the future of the country’s development.

This panel will bring together leading scholars and practitioners to examine Georgia’s democratic trajectory situating it within broader examples of authoritarianism, the use of lawmaking and other formal legal mechanisms to consolidate power and undermine democratic accountability. This panel will explore the country’s post-independence on democratic development, recent political and institutional strains, and the role of law, institutions, and civic resistance in shaping democratic resilience. The discussion will situate Georgia within broader debates on autocratic legalism and the use of formal legal mechanisms to consolidate power and weaken accountability.

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Host or Publisher Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies