Givi Silagadze

20 Posts

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Givi is a Researcher at CRRC Georgia.

Georgian Dream leaders at an exit poll celebration in 2021. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media

Analysis

Datablog | Can political parties in Georgia survive abandonment by their leaders?

by Givi Silagadze

•4 min read

A year before Georgia’s general elections, a CRRC survey found that less than half of surveyed Georgian partisans would remain loyal to their favoured party if its leader were to establish a new party, with supporters of the ruling party more likely to stick with their party than supporters of the opposition. In recent years, political experts and analysts have argued that parties in Georgia function more on the basis of their political leaders’ popularity, rather than as genuine political or

People carrying EU and Georgian flags at a pro-EU demonstration on Georgia's Independence Day, 26 May 2023. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media

Analysis

Datablog | Only a third of Georgians believe the country will obtain EU candidate status

by Givi Silagadze

•4 min read

On 8 November, the European Commission is set to offer its recommendation on whether the EU should grant Georgia candidate status. A CRRC Georgia survey found that only a third of Georgian-speaking adults expected that Georgia would receive EU candidate status by the end of the year. The survey, run from 4-8 October 2023, also found a strong partisan divide. Despite having less favourable perceptions of the EU, supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream party are significantly more likely to thi

Mikheil Saakashvili and Irakli Gharibashvili speaking at the UN General Assembly. Images via UN/YouTube and IPN.

Analysis

Datablog | Georgia’s changing priorities at the UN General Assembly

by Givi Silagadze

•5 min read

A quantitative analysis of the speeches made by Georgia’s leaders at the annual UN General Assembly found that their themes and priorities changed after the change of government in 2012, with Georgian Dream leaders more positive and discussing Russia less negatively than their predecessors. The UN General Assembly (UNGA), currently in its 78th session, meets annually in September and offers an opportunity for the heads of state or government of every country to raise the issues that they cons

A pro-Ukraine and anti-Russia protest organised by Russians in Tbilisi, 26 November 2023. Photo: Anna Edgar/OC Media

Analysis

Datablog | Russian émigrés in Georgia

by Givi Silagadze

•6 min read

After the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of Russian nationals moved to Georgia, with many choosing to stay. A CRRC survey found that Russian respondents in Georgia believe that Russia is not a democracy, have mixed views about Georgia’s political direction, and feel relatively secure in Georgia. After Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Georgia emerged as a popular destination for Russian citizens fleeing their country.

Media outside Tbilisi's city court on 4 April 2022. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media

Analysis

Datablog | Georgians’ attitudes and beliefs associated with polarised media preferences

by Givi Silagadze

•5 min read

A recent NDI/CRRC survey suggests that Georgians have markedly different beliefs about the present state and future of their country, regardless of their party sympathies, depending on whether the television channel they trust is pro-government or pro-opposition. Georgian media is widely considered to be heavily polarised, with its focus ‘almost entirely on the party-political agenda’, according to one respondent in a recent DW Akademie study. This polarisation may have reached the point o

Protesters in Yerevan, during Armenia's Velvet Revolution in 2018. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media

Analysis

Datablog | What do the ‘tragic consequences’ of colour revolutions actually look like?

by Givi Silagadze

•4 min read

While Russia regularly warns against the supposed negative consequences of ‘colour revolutions’, data from the Varieties of Democracy project suggests that anti-regime protests leading to changes of government in former Soviet countries have led to lower corruption, cleaner elections, and more vibrant civil society. Fearing unrest in their region, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government often refer to the threat of ‘colour revolutions’ dislodging the existing government i

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