The Democratic Security Institute (DSI) is an independent, non-partisan thinktank based in Tbilisi, Georgia. We are a team of policy and civil society professionals who are passionate about the power of democracy to bring security, social justice and prosperity to people living in the countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
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  • The Ballad of Misha and Petro
    The Ballad of Misha and Petro

    By Lincoln Mitchell The latest verse in the ballad of Misha and Petro may be the strangest one yet. The former Georgian President, Misha Saakashvili, and current Ukrainian President, Petro Poroschenko, were friends from their student days. When Poroschenko was first elected President of Ukraine in 2014, it was seen as logical that he appointed… Read More

  • EVENT: Youth Perspectives on Democracy Promotion in Eurasia
    EVENT: Youth Perspectives on Democracy Promotion in Eurasia

    Licinia Simão, an Assistant Professor at the University of Coimbra in Portugal and an EDSN Fellow, is hosting an interesting event at the University of Coimbra in the framework of the the EDSN project. The event, Youth Perspectives on Democracy Promotion in Eurasia, will feature a moderated dialogue among and between international relations students at Coimbra with the… Read More

  • POLICY BRIEFING: Does Democracy Still Matter in Georgia?
    POLICY BRIEFING: Does Democracy Still Matter in Georgia?

    By Lincoln Mitchell More than a quarter of century after once again achieving independence, fourteen years after the Rose Revolution, and five years after the democratic breakthrough that defeated the United National Movement (UNM), the state of democracy in Georgia is still mixed. The recent local elections were generally reviewed with the same mixture of… Read More

  • The Challenge of Moving EU-Georgia Relations Forward

    By Licinia Simao The Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit on 24 November in Brussels, represents another important milestone in Georgia’s path of European integration. After having signed an Association Agreement with the European Union that entered into force in July 2016, and having been granted visa free status, Georgia is now looking forward to seeing its position… Read More

  • EaP Summit: A Beginning or End for EU-Azerbaijan Relations?
    EaP Summit: A Beginning or End for EU-Azerbaijan Relations?

    By Zaur Shiriyev Today’s Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels represents a never-ending question for the EU: how to retain the format’s effectiveness, and maintaining motivation among all participant states given increasing divergences in what they want from the EU. So far, the three countries that have signed Association Agreements get more benefits, especially within the… Read More

  • EU & Azerbaijan: What Partnership is Possible?
    EU & Azerbaijan: What Partnership is Possible?

    By Licinia Simao Relations with Azerbaijan represent a challenge to the EU and its Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). This is largely due to Azerbaijan’s difficult balance between its strategic importance for EU energy security, Baku’s commitment to a multi-vectored foreign policy, and the defense of normative values that underpin European integration and the EU’s external relations… Read More

  • EDSN Cited in LSE Analysis

    As it was originally conceived, the EDSN project was envisioned to be a long-term endeavor that would cultivate Eurasia-focused scholars and policy entrepreneurs to advocate for Euro-Atlantic conditionality, while also making the organic case for internal reforms. Long-term success is the goal, but some more immediate evidence of impact is always nice to see. Writing… Read More

  • Keeping Armenia Close to the EU

    Licinia Simao The upcoming Eastern Partnership (EaP) summit, which will take place in Brussels on November 24, will be filled with symbolism for EU-Armenia relations. Four years after Armenia backed away from signing an Association Agreement to join instead the Eurasian Economic Union, the two partners are finally ready to formally sign a new tailor-made… Read More

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