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5.2
Full democracyFlawed democracyHybrid regimeAuthoritarian regime
59
GoodSatisfactoryProblematicDifficultVery Serious
Georgia holds regular and competitive elections. Its democratic trajectory showed signs of improvement during the period surrounding a change in government in 2012–13, but recent years have featured backsliding. Oligarchic influence affects the country’s political affairs, policy decisions, and media environment, and the rule of law is undermined by politicization. Civil liberties are inconsistently protected.
Internet freedom in Georgia improved during the coverage period because there were no major cyberattacks. However, leaked files containing transcripts of phone calls from civil society representatives, journalists, priests, and opposition leaders, allegedly originating from the State Security Service, demonstrated the scope of the government’s surveillance efforts. Online journalists covering the October 2021 local elections and the June 2021 Tbilisi Pride march also faced physical attacks. Internet access continues to grow across Georgia and the government ramped up its efforts to provide access to rural regions during the coverage period.
Overview
Georgia applied for EU membership together with Ukraine and Moldova days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Protests against ‘Foreign agents’ law
In March 2023, the parliament of Georgia was reviewing a bill “On Transparency of Foreign Influence”,
stipulating that media outlets and NGOs could be classified as “foreign agents”
if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.
The law is curtailing freedom of the press.
Critics have pointed out the similarities between such a proposed law and a law enacted in 2012 in Russia,
used to shut down or discredit organisations critical of the government.
The law could also harm Georgia’s chances of EU membership.
In Georgia, a large share of the media is controlled by the government.
A large part of independent media gets outside support.
Thousands of protesters gathered in Tbilisi in opposition of the proposed law.
Police forces used water cannons and tear gas against the protesters, and arrested hundreds.
After three days of protests, Georgia’s governing party announced it would withdraw the bill
which was subsequently voted down by the parliament in the second reading.
See [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6].
Georgia declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Georgia is parliamentary representative democratic republic with a multi-party system.
Before the 2003 Rose Revolution, according to Foreign Policy,
Georgia was among the most corrupt nations in Eurasia.
After the revolution, the level of corruption abated dramatically.
In 2010, Transparency International said that
Georgia was "the best corruption-buster in the world."
Human rights in Georgia are guaranteed by the country's constitution.
However, it has been alleged by Amnesty International, Rights Watch,
the United States Department of State and the Georgian opposition
that these rights are often breached.
The 2023 Georgian protests were a series of street demonstrations taking place throughout Georgia
over parliamentary backing of a proposed "Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence",
which requires NGOs to register as "agents of foreign influence" if the funds they receive from abroad amount to more than 20% of their total revenue.