In October 2024, mass protests erupted across the nation of Georgia following the release of highly contested election results that extended the power of the ruling Georgian Dream party. Demonstrators numbering in the thousands flooded the streets, rejecting what they viewed as an unjust election result and denouncing the government’s deepening ties with Russia. The demonstrations were followed by violent police crackdowns that only reinforced the perception that Georgia’s democracy is crumbling under an increasingly autocratic rule.

The Caucasian nation’s ongoing struggle with consociational democracy—a political model designed to promote power-sharing in divided societies—has only fueled political instability, increased ethnic divisions, and is leaving the country more vulnerable to pro-Putin corruption than ever. Consociationalism as a concept relies on proportional representation, mutual veto rights, grand coalitions, and segmental autonomy to ensure democratic stability within a system. However, Georgia’s political landscape is characterized by absolute-victory politics, where ruling parties consolidate their power rather than share it with other parties. The failure to adopt power-sharing mechanisms of the current and former Georgian governments has increased public discontent and weakened democratic institutions.

One of the key issues lies in the nation’s deep political polarization. The divide between the opposition party and the Georgian Dream party, also including the United National Movement, has made governance a zero-sum game. Instead of fostering inclusion, the government has chosen to marginalize opposition voices, thus leading to democratic backsliding. An absence of real power-sharing mechanisms within the governance system has not only weakened resilience but also allowed external influences, particularly from powerful neighbors like the Russian Federation, to exploit the country’s vulnerabilities.

Georgia’s regional and ethnic divisions complicate its ability to implement consociational principles. The country has significant Azerbaijani and Armenian ethnic minorities. However, these groups remain significantly underrepresented in both the federal and local governments and political decision-making. Consociational democracy would require stronger minority inclusion, yet Georgia has failed to institutionalize neither autonomous structures nor proportional representation to all citizens that would give these groups meaningful participation in their governance. Furthermore, the exclusion fosters dissatisfaction amongst the population and weakens the democratic framework, making the system more vulnerable to external manipulation, particularly at the hands of the Russian government.

Pro-Putin corruption at the hands of influential sympathizers compounds these issues of political and ethnic polarization by undermining democratic norms and institutional legitimacy. Georgian Dream party members, like its leader and founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, have been accused of maintaining close ties with Russia and accepting “financial donations” to promote Russian interests, shaping policy decisions that align with the Kremlin’s vision for a greater “Russkiy Mir” (Russian World) instead of democratic consolidation. The Georgian government’s reluctance to impose strict sanctions on Putin’s government following its unlawful invasion of Ukraine only goes to exemplify the ruling party’s alignment despite the overwhelming public desire for EU membership and Euro-Atlantic integration. This corruption influenced by Russia only erodes public trust in democratic institutions. The European Parliament itself has even expressed concerns about the actions of the Georgian Dream party under Ivanishvili’s leadership, addressing the dismantling of democratic institutions and the erosion of fundamental freedoms.

The violence displayed against citizens during the 2024 protests during their crackdown on dissent displays the government’s autocratic tendencies. In the book “How Democracies Die”, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt give their insight into some of the reasons that Georgian democracy is eroding. They argue that dismantling democracy is not immediate like through violent coup d’etats but rather through weakening institutions gradually like through the suppression of oppositions or minorities, and through expanding executive power unlawfully. In the text, they stated that “when societies grow so deeply divided that parties become wedded to incompatible worldviews… stable partisan rivalries eventually give way to perceptions of mutual threat” (Levitsky & Ziblatt, p. 116). Georgia is a perfect example of this! Ruling elites are exploiting democratic frameworks to consolidate power through corrupting elections, opposition parties are delegitimizing through accusations of being foreign agents, and ethnic tensions are being exacerbated. The protest underscore the public’s waning trust in their democratic institutions and the increasing desire to be closer to Europe in the face of the danger of unchecked power consolidation.

Georgia’s inability to successfully implement a consociational democracy in a meaningful way has only perpetuated internal instability and deepened its susceptibility to Russian influence. Instead of trying to foster inclusive governance, the ruling elite party Georgian Dream prioritizes self-preservation and external allegiances over democratic reform. The October 2024 protests displayed widespread public demand for greater European integration and a rejection of Russian interference. If the Georgian nation seeks to resist Kremlin influence and strengthen its democracy, it must adhere to power-sharing mechanisms that reduce corruption, promote inclusion, and protect minority rights. Without these important reforms, Georgia may continue to face democratic erosion and deeper entrenchment within Putin’s sphere of influence.