Trajectory of Regime Transformations in Georgia, 2004-2014

<p>Political transformation experienced by Georgia over the past decade remains unprecedented, especially for the post-Soviet space. In country&rsquo;s modern history there have been four regime changes, but for all that three of them came through unconstitutional means.</p><p>The first was the struggle for independence, led by Zviad Gamsakhurdia who became the first president, after a time it was civil war, resulting in Eduard Shevardnadze becoming president. And the last was the <em>&lsquo;Rose Revolution&rsquo;</em>, brought Mikheil Saakashvili to power. So in Georgia change of power is rather associated with political crises than with completely normal democratic procedure. And in this respect the parliamentary elections in 2012 became a turning point. So these elections resulted in the country&rsquo;s first ever constitutional transfer of power, because opposition <em>Georgian Dream</em> coalition has won control of the country&rsquo;s parliament. And at first glance, this is a triumph of democracy. Therefore, we will analyze how the political regime changed.</p><p>So, <em>the problem</em> of this research consists in unobvious causes of failure of political project of M. Saakashvili and his team on building sustainable&nbsp; regime in Georgia. By many indicators changes in formal institutions should have to lead to the democratization of the regime. But it is also necessary to take into account the public perception of these changes, the dynamics of the informal institutions, the impact of non-systemic factors, such as the defeat in the armed conflict in August 2008, etc.</p><p><em>The object</em> of this research is the political process in modern Georgia<em>; the subject</em> is the set of dynamics factors of this process.</p><p><em>The goal</em> o<span id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">f this study</span> <span class="hps">is to determine the</span> <span class="hps">trajectory</span> <span class="hps">of regime</span> <span class="hps">transformation</span> <span class="hps">in Georgia</span></span> since 2003. To achieve this goal it is necessary to perform the following <em>tasks</em>:</p><ul><li>To describe the theory of post-Soviet transformations, including Georgia;</li><li>To analyze historical background of the country;</li><li>To make brief summary of current situation in Georgia, primarily through revising key ratings of formal socio-economic factors;</li><li>To analyze the dynamics of informal practices and public opinion during the specified period;</li><li>To assess the role of different factors in the political transformation&rsquo;s outcome at present.</li></ul><p><span id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">Our analysis of the</span> <span class="hps">political situation in Georgia</span> <span class="hps">has shown that it</span> <span class="hps">can be explained by the concept</span> <span class="hps">of competitive</span> <span class="hps">authoritarianism</span></span>. <span class="b-translation__text">For more details, see the paper.</span></p>