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Democracy and Human Rights Policies / Policy Brief

The EU and Georgia's turmoil

17/06/2009 By Balázs Jarábik, Tornike Sharashenidze

V.Shlamov/AFP/Getty Images

Ongoing protests against the government in Georgia are a real concern and the country may well be on the brink of another war with Russia. Georgia's political elite are concerned about the lack of security guarantees from the West. Yet the ruling elite itself is also to blame. Mikhail Saakashvili 's government has failed to strike a balance between democracy and national security concerns. Tbilisi has only sought to wave the European flag rather than adopting European values in a deep-rooted fashion.

The current internal political crisis calls Georgia's statehood into question. The blockade of Tbilisi's main streets by opposition demonstrators demanding Saakashvili's resignation is a stark reminder of the threat looming over the country. But the current scenario also presents an opportunity to deepen the country's fragile democracy. Saakashvili has come belatedly to realise the importance of EU cooperation. This Policy Brief by Balazs Jarabik and Tornike Sharashenidze explores how the EU needs to seize the moment more proactively to help the country's reforms.

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Keywords

Civil society Democratisation Eastern Europe and Russia EU Georgia Political Reform

Related publications

• Georgia and Russia at war
• Georgia and Russia: a short war with a long aftermath

Bio author: Balázs Jarábik

Balázs Jarábik is an associate fellow at FRIDE.

Bio author: Tornike Sharashenidze

Tornike Sharashenidze is founder and head of the International Affairs Programme at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs in Tbilisi, Georgia.