Georgian political parties and foreign policy

What is it about?

Georgian parties have presented diverse views on foreign policy in their pre-election manifestos throughout 1992-2016. Party visions provides new insights about how Georgian foreign policy can be understood. Parties go beyond a simple options of pro-Westernism and pro-Russianism.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

The data from political parties help see Georgian foreign policy in a more nuanced way and explain puzzles that appear when analyzing Georgia's case through various theoretical perspectives. Additionally, the framework developed in this article is useful to detect changes in foreign policy behavior including Eduard Shevardnadze's turn towards the West, Saakashvili's antagonization from Russia, and Ivanishvili's normalization policy towards Russia. This framework can easily be applied to other non-authoritarian small states where political parties do offer distinct policy options.