President Mikheil Saakashvili has certainly seen his share of criticism, both domestically and in the international sphere. This is related to the increased deficit between state and society in Georgia. Mr. Saakashvili has been responsible in the last few years of trying to hijack the political system to stay in power by shutting down an opposition TV station, and increasing the influence of his party in the national Parliament. There have been many protests, but not to the extent that discontent on the streets has overtaken the ballot box (despite what some opposition politicians have stated). For example, planned protests meant to politically rattle Mr. Saakashvili petered out into ‘symbolic protests’ with little result.
Yet lately Georgia seems to be receiving a more positive reputation. Despite the disastrous conflict of 2008 with Russia, Georgia is on the way to becoming a functioning state with functioning institutions. In a recent article, The Economist gushed over the difference between Georgia today and when it was controlled by its dictator, Eduard Shevardnadze. Essentially, Georgia now has an effective infrastructure that takes care of electricity, water, and sewage, as well as far more effective and less corrupt governance structures than before. Georgia fits a classic profile as an effective emerging democracy.
But challenges remain, to the extent that Georgia has been labelled as a ‘pluralistic feudalism’ system, in that there exists no public health, transportation, education, or insurance systems. As a result, it is political personalities, and not institutional structures, that control the government as empty promises keep being made to the Georgian people. This is the danger of Georgia’s progress. Irresponsible politics can easily thwart the gains made so far, and the last 2008 parliamentary elections have been heavily criticized by the public. Opposition politicians are disorganized and not able to provide an effective platform for Georgians against the government, even though many of them feel marginalized or persecuted. There also remains the significant security threat from Russia.
The current government is focused on modernization, but not upholding democratic values. This means that while progress may be made, it can all still be derailed rather easily due to a splintered opposition not able to counter government declarations. As a result, many experts are calling for reforms to Georgia’s parliamentary system, so that a system of checks and balances that is meant to work on paper finally becomes practice, allowing Georgia to stay on track throughout successive changes of political power.
Posted on August 26, 2010
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