Category: Blog
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Tbilisi’s protests and the Georgian Dream Political paradox
By Lincoln Mitchell The protests and political drama that have engulfed Tbilisi over last week or so has highlighted all of the flaws of Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party (GD). While the image of a pro-Kremlin Russian parliamentarian holding court in Georgia’s legislature was to many Georgians a troubling symbol, that event, and the political…
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What can Moldova Learn from Georgia?
By Mihai Popsoi After having visited Georgia several times since my first visit in 2016, I am in awe with the sheer splendor of the country’s booming new architectural landmarks. The controversial former president Mihail Saakashvili undeniably left a mark by embarking on a rapid modernization process that entailed drastic anti-corruption reforms as well as…
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Mobilizing Emojis: The HAHA Campaign to Counter the Recognition of Abkhazia
By Ann Tsurtsumia-Zurabashvili Being primarily an issue of foreign policy, the local dimension of the counter-recognition policy has remained rather overlooked. How ordinary Georgian citizens react to new external contacts of Abkhazia might be meaningless for the big picture, but it sheds light to the sentiments of societies living on both sides of the division…
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Armenia: Revolution in the EEU
By Dr. Karena Avedissian For Armenia, a country that is a member state of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and was widely perceived as slowly slipping into autocracy, the Velvet Revolution was a remarkable achievement. Despite Protest leader and current Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan’s framing of the protests as an internal issue – not…
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Nagorno-Karabakh’s Hot Political Summer: A Revolution That Didn’t Happen
By Tigran Grigoryan Editor’s Note: The author’s use of unqualified place names in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is a reflection of his analytical perspective, and does not necessarily represent the official view of EDSN, CSS, or its affiliates. The velvet revolution in Armenia was a political earthquake which few had anticipated. In less than a…
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Brexit and the Eastern Partnership – opportunities as well as risks?
By Alexander Nice Barring any last-minute drama, the United Kingdom will cease to be a member of the European Union in just a few months’ time, on 29th March 2019. Brexit represents a fundamental challenge to the European Union, which will lose its second biggest economy and a critical security actor. It also poses a…
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Tulevik ilma e-ta: Eesti roll ELi idapartnerluses
By Emmet Tuohy Ametlikult, Euroopa Liidu idapartnerluse poliitika sai ametlikult alguse 2009. aastal Praha tippkohtumisel ELi liikmesriikide heakskiitmisega—sealhulgas üks, mille nimi algab E-tähega—ning hõlmab koostöö suurendamist kuue idanaabriga: Armeenia, Aserbaidžaan, Gruusia Moldova, Ukraina ja Valgevene.
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Astroturf or Grass? Civil Society, the EU, and the Eastern Partnership
By Emmet Tuohy In the post-Communist political philosophy tradition, the concept of “civil society” (an ostensibly flourishing collection of independent organizations freely able to pursue their interests, ranging from activist groups to bird-watching clubs, from academic institutions to bricklayers’ unions) is distinguished from “political society,” i.e., that dominated by the personnel and ideology of the…