DOI: 10.46340/eppd.2026.13.2.4
Amiran Khevtsuriani, D.Sc. in International Relations
Georgian Technical University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Keti Jijeishvili, D.Sc. in Political Science
Georgian Technical University, Tbilisi, Georgia
How to cite: Khevtsuriani, A., Jijeishvili, K., (2026). “The Repressive Policy of ‘Georgian Dream’ and Georgia’s ‘Paused’ European Perspective”. Evropský politický a právní diskurz, 13, 2, 58-64. https://doi.org/10.46340/eppd.2026.13.2.4
Abstract
The article examines the tendencies of authoritarian consolidation in contemporary Georgia in the context of the country’s formally declared European integration course and the actual political practices of the ruling party, Georgian Dream. Particular attention is paid to the expediency and political consequences of the hedging strategy pursued by the ruling party, which combines rhetorical commitment to European integration with governance practices that increasingly contradict the normative and institutional criteria of European democracy. The article analyses the correlation between the results of this strategy and the standards of democratic governance, the rule of law, political pluralism, civil liberties, and accountability that constitute the foundation of the European political and legal order.
The research focuses on anti-democratic and freedom-restricting legislative initiatives, as well as on the mechanisms of their practical implementation in Georgia’s political system. It demonstrates that such initiatives are not isolated political episodes but elements of a broader process of democratic backsliding, institutional capture, and restriction of civic space. Special attention is given to the use of repressive measures against demonstrators, civil society actors, opposition groups, and independent voices, since these practices directly affect Georgia’s democratic credibility and undermine the legitimacy of its European aspirations. The article argues that the growing discrepancy between the declared pro-European orientation of the Georgian state and the authoritarian governance model established by the ruling party has become one of the central factors contributing to the de facto pause in Georgia’s European integration perspective.
The article aims to identify and analyse the political, institutional, and legal mechanisms that have complicated the realization of Georgia’s European perspective and hindered the development of democratic processes in the country. It substantiates that the crisis of Georgia’s European trajectory should be interpreted not only as a foreign policy problem but also as a consequence of internal transformations in the system of governance, where the weakening of the rule of law, the narrowing of political competition, and the restriction of fundamental freedoms create structural obstacles to democratic consolidation and European integration.
Keywords: political hedging, consolidation of authoritarianism, repressive policy, anti-democratic and freedom-restricting legislation, European Union criteria, institutional delay.
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