Georgia: From Autocracy to Democracy

Review\n"Georgia: From Autocracy to Democracy provides a comprehensive guide to the political, economic, and international development of Georgia from 1991 to the present. It is a unique and invaluable aid to students of the region, as well as diplomats, foreign ministry, and international organization personnel dealing with Georgia." -- Jeremy Smith, Director of the VERA Centre for Russian and Border Studies, University of Eastern Finland\n"Georgia: From Autocracy to Democracy draws on an impressive list of contributors, both Georgian and non-Georgian, new and well-established, who provide a rich portrait of the country’s progress in the local and international context." -- Thomas de Waal, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe\nReflecting on the deep and complex changes in Georgian politics over the last quarter of a century, this book highlights the domestic and international developments that have shaped Georgia as a state and society. Georgia: From Autocracy to Democracy covers a wide array of topics, including the economy, elections, judicial and educational systems, relations with the EU, and Georgia’s interaction with its regional neighbours, including Russia, Turkey, and Iran.
In the book, Georgian policy-makers, practitioners, and scholars who have worked in the administration, in the opposition, in the Third Sector, and in academia provide first-hand perspectives on Georgia’s political and economic life. They demonstrate unusual insight into the extraordinary transformations in Georgia over the last twenty-five years, from the authoritarianism of President Gamsakhurdia, through the experience of civil war in the 1990s, to democracy today.