Source: Maxime Baqradze (instagram)

How tolerating and encouraging violence fuels democratic backsliding in Georgia

During the past few months, the streets of Tbilisi—the capital of Georgia—have been constantly crowded with mass protests. The protest is still alive; to this day, it has been ongoing for more than 100 days. At the beginning of the demonstrations, more than 50 people were put in prison (Radiotavisupleba.ge, 2025), and, since the 28th of November, 27 protestors and approximately 50 journalists and media representatives have been severely injured (batumelebi.netgazeti.ge, 2024).

These protests started following the October 2024 legislative elections; to this day, the election has failed to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the international community, the political opposition, and a significant number of Georgian citizens (Nodia, 2024). The abovementioned actors argue that the election was rigged and that the ruling party—Georgian Dream—is illegitimate. Another trigger of the mass protest was the Prime Minister’s statement about suspending the ongoing negotiations regarding EU accession (Nodia, 2024).

Since it came to power in 2012, the Georgian Dream’s government has undermined democracy in the country. The judiciary system is increasingly politicized (Tsereteli, 2024), the government twice attempted to introduce a “foreign-agent” law, and has restricted media and civil society at every turn (Tavkhelidze, 2024). The most recent developments continue to accelerate this autocratizing trend.

Democratic backsliding or democratic erosion is a process that refers to the decline of democratic values, institutions, and integrity in the political system (carnegiecouncil.org, 2024). Georgia is an interesting case study of democratic backsliding because of its soviet experience, long-lasting fight for independence, and recent political processes. After gaining independence in 1991, the country has struggled to build consolidated democratic institutions.

Recent reports by the V-Dem Institute suggest that democratic erosion, a challenge for many countries (V-Dem-Institute, 2025), is also visible in Georgia—which is characterized as an electoral autocracy in the latest report. The report also showcases the recent decline of democracy in Georgia, since the country was considered an electoral democracy until last year (V-Dem-Institute, 2025).

In How Democracies Die, Levistsky and Ziblatt (2018) underline four primary indicators for detecting authoritarian behavior, including tolerance and encouragement of violence (as the main focus of this blog is violence, I will focus on this topic and will not review the other three elements). According to the authors, autocratizing regimes often heavily rely on specific organizations such as paramilitary forces, guerillas, and militia groups. The government relies on partisan allies or even their supporters who execute violence against the opponents of the regime, demonstrators, and activists (Levistsky & Ziblatt, 2018). The framework provided by Levitsky and Ziblatt applies to recent actions of the “Georgian Dream” government, indicating and explaining that the regime is increasingly authoritarian.

The first weeks of protests in the main square of Tbilisi were full of violence that the government exploited against peaceful demonstrators and media representatives. The police, the Department of Special Tasks (a special police department created to address internal affairs and tasks and whose main mission was to handle demonstrations), and “Titushky” (a type of gang affiliated with Georgian Dream known for violent actions towards protesters, opposition, and civil society members) utilized a wave of violent and brutal procedures against peaceful demonstrators (formulanews.ge, 2024). Authorities used violence against citizens, including women and teenagers, with tear gas and batons. Meanwhile, some members of the government, including Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, have argued that peaceful demonstrators are “radicals,” “deep-state” organized groups, and opposition-funded activists who aspire to overthrow the government (Radiotavisupleba.ge, 2024).

On the contrary, the international community has imposed sanctions on many members of the Georgian Dream Party, and the legitimacy of the current government is yet to be recognized (Panchulidze & Youngs, 2025). The most powerful series of sanctions target the leading perpetrators of violent crimes—the Head of Police, the Head of the Department of Special Tasks, and the close circle of the ruling party. The strategic partner states of Georgia and some member states of the EU updated and enlarged the so-called “Magnitsky List” (a list that includes people receiving the most rigorous financial sanctions) by adding the aforementioned high officials (Radiotavisupleba.ge, 2024). However, the government does not recognize these actions. This fact speaks loudly about the tolerance of violence by the government and illustrates Levistsky and Ziblatt’s (2018) argument that toleration of violence is a classic indicator of authoritarian behavior.

In Georgia, institutions and actors that used violence against their own citizens (such as the head of the Department of Special Tasks, Zviad Kharazishvili) were rewarded with the Medal of Honor (Radiotavisupleba.ge, 2025). The reward-giving ceremony took place after all the sanctions were announced, which underlines how much the “Georgian Dream” party ignores international values, democracy, and primarily the Georgian people. Hence, all of the recent steps taken by the “Georgian Dream” party showcase the tolerance and encouragement of violence as one of their primary weapons in terms of maintaining power.

Ultimately, violence, oppression, and persecution of the citizens have become a component of the nature of the current government of Georgia—making it yet another example of the ongoing global democratic erosion. Nevertheless, even today, the 119th day of continuous demonstrations, people refuse to give up. The protest has diverse locations, and international society still challenges the government’s legitimacy and opposes its recent actions, which brings at least a spark of hope to Georgian citizens. A hope of fulfilling their actual dreams instead of living in a “Georgian Nightmare.”

Works Cited

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britannica.com. (2024). britannica.com. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/sanction

carnegiecouncil.org. (2024). carnegiecouncil.org. Retrieved from Democratic backsliding: https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/explore-engage/key-terms/democratic-backsliding

formulanews.ge. (2024). formulanews.ge. Retrieved from https://formulanews.ge/News/120712

Levistsky , S., & Ziblatt, D. (2018). How Democracies Die.

Nodia, G. (2024). Georgia’s Battle for Freedom. Journal of Democracy.

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