Author: Nino Samkharadze, Affiliated policy analyst at the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP) and invited lecturer at International Black Sea University (IBSU)
Introduction
Traditionally, Georgian civil society has been central to democratization processes and has been distinguished by exceptional efficiency, strength, and expertise. In recent years, Georgia’s civil society organizations (CSOs) and critical media have been subjected to unprecedented pressure from the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has moved rapidly towards authoritarianism. Georgian Dream launched a long-term and multifaceted attack against CSOs to remove a significant obstacle to single-party rule. Compounding this domestic challenge, Georgian civil society suffered a serious blow from Washington’s shuttering of USAID programs, a decision that sent shockwaves globally. In this context, Georgian democracy and statehood are currently engaged in a struggle for the survival of civil society and are walking a particularly dangerous path in the country’s history. This puts Georgian civil society between Scylla and Charybdis – on the one hand, it must successfully continue to fulfill its function in a rapidly changing geopolitical environment, and on the other hand, it must protect itself from authoritarian pressure.
An independent and critical civil society – comprised of CSOs, independent media, and activist groups – is a fundamental element of any democracy. Thus, targeted propaganda and legislative and strategic attacks on the civil sector are tantamount to the destruction of Georgia’s democratic prospects. The sector provides various benefits to citizens and forms a crucial part of the basis for the functioning of domestic democratic processes. At the same time, it bolsters the state’s credibility with Western partners, for whom the functioning of democracy is fundamentally important for successful cooperation and for admission into the Western community of democracies. Consequently, against the backdrop of a weakened civil society, the country’s prospects for Euro-Atlantic integration face unprecedented danger.
Having in mind the existential importance of an independent civil society for the Georgian state, this paper analyzes the various threats facing the civil society sector, assesses their potential magnitude, and provides an argumentative discussion of the sector’s future prospects.
The Policy Memo was originally published by the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP)
© Photo on cover belongs to Tekla Meladze
