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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  • 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. Read More

  • Astroturf or Grass? Civil Society, the EU, and the Eastern Partnership
    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… Read More

  • Thirty years of war over Nagorno-Karabakh: what are the challenges for democracy?
    Thirty years of war over Nagorno-Karabakh: what are the challenges for democracy?

    By Licínia Simão The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh started in 1988, initially as a political demand by the Karabakh authorities for formal inclusion in the Armenian Socialist Soviet Republic. It rapidly escalated into violent confrontation, as Azerbaijani authorities refused this demand and Moscow proved too absent to manage the contestation. The final… Read More

  • Helsinki 2.0 – An Old-School Solution to an Old-School Problem?
    Helsinki 2.0 – An Old-School Solution to an Old-School Problem?

    By Emmet Tuohy Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act in 2015, OSCE chairman-in-office Ivica Dačić (then, as now, foreign minister of Serbia) called the agreement a “historic triumph of cooperation over conflict that set the stage for the end of the Cold War.”  In historical context, that is certainly true enough. Yet,… Read More

  • To Sleep, Perchance to Reform: The Continued Relevance of the EU’s Eastern Partnership

    By Emmet Tuohy Much as the related “Ukraine fatigue” pandemic swept Washington in the aftermath of the 2004-05 Orange Revolution, Eastern Partnership (EaP) fatigue is alas an increasingly common illness among many contemporary observers, both within the EU and in the six partner countries. Even in Tallinn—the capital of one of the most enthusiastic and… Read More

  • Armenian Dreams of Democracy
    Armenian Dreams of Democracy

    By Licínia Simão The month of April 2018 in Armenia was marked by an unprecedented level of popular mobilization demanding the resignation of Prime-minister Serzh Sargsyan and the end of the corrupt system he enabled as President over the last decade. He announced his resignation on April 23, following 11 days of protests in Yerevan and… Read More

  • Call for Applications: EDSN Fellowship 2018-19

    The Eurasia Democratic Security Network (EDSN), a project by the Center for Social Sciences with the generous funding of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), is seeking applicants for its 2018-19 Research and Policy Fellowship. EDSN is a network of Europe and Eurasia scholars investigating the nexus between democracy and security, with special attention paid… Read More

  • POLICY BRIEFING: Conditionality: Western & Regional Perspectives
    POLICY BRIEFING: Conditionality: Western & Regional Perspectives

    By Giorgi Khelashvili In Spring 2017, the Center for Social Sciences launched the Eurasia Democratic Security Network project funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). EDSN established a platform for discussing and addressing issues related to the Euro-Atlantic integration and conditionality. In July 2017, CSS organized kick-off workshop involving the first EDSN cohort. The aim… Read More

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