🆕Civil society is in danger of getting squeezed – in some countries, almost entirely out of existence.
A new report, edited by @richardyoungs.bsky.social and Elene Panchulidze, suggests that we need radically different protections. Their authors have ideas⤵️
In this piece for Civil Georgia, I try to look at how government-driven Euroscepticism and autocratization interact with the structural challenges facing Georgia, and how pro-democracy actors must navigate these dynamics to sustain the country’s democratic foundations.
civil.ge/archives/718...
Spread the word! Do not forget Georgia!
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
290th day of protest.
"Protect visa free [regime with EU]" - was the main message for today.
More photos: www.instagram.com/p/DOjd0SPjIw...
290 day of uninterrupted protest 🇬🇪
Averting acute escalation in Russia's war against Ukraine url: academic.oup.com/ia/article/1...
A peace treaty would settle a long and bloody conflict—and create new geopolitical options in the region. foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/26/a...
The Russia-Ukraine war isn't just about Trump and Putin.
Russia’s imperial state structure shapes the state’s behaviour, regardless of who leads it or how the West reacts.
✏️@pierzynskigabriel.bsky.social @ho-centre.bsky.social
blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...
Georgian Dream uses all the repressive measures at once. Still, the protests carry on.
Due to protests, Georgian Dream also withdrew the first foreign agent law in 2023. Then you know what happened.
The point is, once autocratic logic sets in, it can resurface. Ukrainians must remain vigilant.
Beyond SUSI, the politicians themselves do not feel comfortable really going out and about. And to me that is the root cause of the problem. Is anyone available who can really talk to people and do campaigning as you advise? not sure.
I’ll read this later, but I will say this: Georgian opposition parties do not know, or do not want to know, how to campaign. They will not campaign as they must. They will hold some small meetings and talk people over from TV. When GD wins, they will stay distanced from voters until next elections.
The voters do. And going alone is not going to help him and his party, especially now that some publicly known members left Lelo. But he gained Elisashvili though 😀🤦♂️
Well, I would disagree. And even if I agreed, a banker Khazaradze cannot be anyone’s hope.
Khazaradze sure has money but that cannot buy the popularity he and his party desperately needs to be a sole opposition player.
They are so unpopular, the best they can do is to organize meetings with their party members and they will probably struggle even with that.
Across the #SouthCaucasus, democratic spaces are shrinking at an alarming pace.
Join us for an urgent conversation about #authoritarianism, #resistance, & the future of #democracy in the South Caucasus.
Wed, 09 July / 6:30 – 8:00 pm
At @boell.de Berlin & online!
calendar.boell.de/en/event/aut...
🇬🇪 "Western partners can and must take steps to help Georgia back toward a more democratic path, which would also aid their geopolitical objectives."
Read @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social's latest insight:
Very pleased about our new @gmfus.bsky.social policy brief by @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social, taking stock of Georgia's democracy crisis and its international context, with a clear view of how Europe and the US can and should help address it, not least by supporting the country's civil society
No one thought it before but seems like LinkedIn is becoming a new Twitter. Bluesky gotta do better job I guess
He also said Kier Starmer could not hold his head up when Kobakhidze was talking at the EPC panel 🤦♂️
Quote from newspaper article with highlighted text: "Years of stagnation have broken liberal democracy’s central compact with voters, that it is the best system to deliver prosperity for each generation."
It's become almost commonplace to say that the promise of democracy is that it will deliver higher standards of living.
But that was never the claim made by the Chartists, the women's suffrage movement or those who struggled to win democracy in the past.
And it's a bad test to set for the present.
"When citizens must think twice about criticizing or opposing the government because they could credibly face government retribution, they no longer live in a full democracy. By that measure, America has crossed the line." @stevelevitsky.bsky.social, @lucanway.bsky.social and @dziblatt.bsky.social
This from the letter to Trump is telling civil.ge/wp-content/u...
Could have been re-alignment all along, but I think they gave multi-alignment a shot and it did not work. They'd prefer if it did – would've been good for domestic legitimacy too. They probably thought the West would get back to business as usual despite criticism. But apparently not.
In this piece, I argue that Georgia's attempt to pursue multi-alignment has fallen short due to its limited strategic value.
Multi-alignment is successful if states offer value that forces all competing actors to accept the multi-aligning state’s engagement with their rival power.
