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Rose Revolution: the Challenges and Peculiarities of Democratization

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Rose Revolution: the Challenges and Peculiarities of Democratization Georgian Rose Revolution: The Challenges and Peculiarities of Democratization in Post-Soviet Countries A thesis presented to the faculty of the Center for International Studies of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Anna Gabritchidze November 2011 © 2011 Anna Gabritchidze. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled Georgian Rose Revolution: the Challenges and Peculiarities of Democratization in Post-Soviet Countries by ANNA GABRITCHIDZE has been approved for the Center for International Studies by Dauda AbuBakar Professor of Political Science Jie Li Li Director, International Development Studies Drew McDaniel Interim Director, Center for International Studies 3 Abstract GABRITCHIDZE, ANNA, M.A., November 2011, International Development Studies Georgian Rose Revolution: the Challenges and Peculiarities of Democratization in Post- Soviet Countries (73 pp.) Director of Thesis: Dauda AbuBakar This thesis will describe and analyze the challenges and peculiarities of democratization in post-Soviet countries with Georgia as the main focus. It will cover the investigation of phenomena of so-called “fourth wave” democracies with their transition regime styles. In the end of the 1990s Samuel Huntington asked if we can expect a new wave of democratization in the 21st century and what factors would define it. The dramatic wave of political changes which gripped republics of the former Soviet Union during this short period led to “Rose Revolution” in Georgia in November 2003, the “Orange Revolution” in Ukraine in November 2004 and the “Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan” in March 2005. The Georgian case study could be an evident demonstration of this political and social change with the challenges common to all post-Soviet countries as well as with its uniqueness. Due to very recent character of this process the literature on post-soviet transition is still in its formation stages. Therefore, this research under the condition of its future development could be a definite input in the formation of such studies. However not a long time ago, in 2002, Georgia was referred to countries with a dominant-power system of government, where transition to democracy was under 4 question as it reminded more transition to autocracy. The Rose Revolution (November 2003) changed a lot of concepts. So, testing the democracy in Georgia in the light of illiberal democracy theory we can pose the following research questions: What political peculiarities had the regime of illiberal democracy in Georgia? What factors influenced revolutionary change of political regime in Georgia? Thesis also explores the state of affairs in the post-revolutionary Georgia. What really changed after the Revolution? Here I will try to present the evidence of achievements as well as failures of the new government and make some conclusions. Approved: _____________________________________________________________ Dauda AbuBakar Professor of Political Science 5 Acknowledgements I would like to thank all the individuals who have helped me in completion of this thesis. Special thanks to the members of my committee, Dr. Abubakar, Dr. Li and Dr. Mosher who provided me with their strong support and kind assistance during this process. I owe a special gratitude to Dr. Abubakar, my thesis advisor, who convinced me to stay strong when I was ready to give up due to serious obstacles for my research back in my country. I want also to express my deep gratitude to my family back in Georgia for their unconditional love and constant encouragement. I also would like to acknowledge my friends and colleagues from International Development Studies who provided me with great joys and happiness during the time I have made Athens my home. 6 Table of Contents Page Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………...3 Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………..5 List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………...7 Chapter 1: Fourth Wave Democracies ……………………………………………………8 Introduction………………………………………………………………………..8 Significance of Study and Research Questions …………………………………..9 Methodology………………………………………………………………………9 Chapter 2: A Case Study of Georgia……………………………………………………..11 Historical Background…………………………………………………………...11 Crises of Power…………………………………………………………………..14 Formation of Opposition…………………………………………………………15 Elections………………………………………………………………………….16 Rose Revolution………………………………………………………………….22 Analyses………………………………………………………………………….26 Chapter 3: Literature Review……………………………………………………………29 Concepts of the Third Wave Democracies………………………………………29 Concept of Illiberal Democracy…………………………………………………32 Democracy and Constitutional Liberalism: based on Georgian Case Study…….35 Chapter 4: After the Revolution……………………………………..…………………..40 Achievements and Mis-achievements …………………………………………42 Media…………………………………………………………………………...46 November 2007 Events…………………………………………………………53 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………… ..62 References……………………………………………………………………………….66 Appendix A: Georgian Chronics 1989-2006…………………………………………….69 7 List of Tables Page Table 1: The results of the Parliamentary Elections, November 2, 2003…………….21 8 Chapter 1: Fourth Wave Democracies Introduction This research is directed to the study of the challenges and peculiarities of democratization development in post-soviet countries of Eastern Europe with Georgia as the main focus. It will cover the investigation of phenomena of so-called “fourth wave” democracies with their unique transition regime styles. In the end of 1990s Samuel Huntington asked if we can expect a new wave of democracy in the 21st century and what factors would define it (Huntington, 1991). Dramatic wave of political changes which gripped republics of the former Soviet Union during this short period led to “Rose Revolution” in Georgia in November 2003, “Orange Revolution” in Ukraine in November 2004, “Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan” in March 2005. Due to very recent character of this process the literature on post-socialist revolutions is still in its formation stages. Therefore, this research under the condition of its future development could be a definite input in the formation of such studies. Georgian case study could be an evident demonstration and detailed explanation of the political and social change with the challenges common to all post-soviet countries as well as with its uniqueness. According to non-violent and progressive character of the Rose Revolution it could be called a successful achievement of democracy development in the region. Citing Lincoln: “The Rose Revolution represented a victory not only for the Georgian people, but also for democracy globally. The revolution that took as its peaceful symbol a red rose, demonstrated that, by aggressively contesting elections, exercising basic freedoms of speech and assembly, and applying smart strategic thinking, a 9 democratic opposition can defeat a weak semi-democratic kleptocracy” (Lincoln , 2004, p. 347). Significance of Study and Research Questions For better understanding of the essence of all the challenges and peculiarities of democratization in post-communist countries we can take case study of Georgia, as one of the most recent “success story” of democratization process among countries of former Soviet Union. However, not a long time ago, in 2002, Georgia was referred to countries with a dominant-power system of government (Carothers, 2002), where transition to democracy was under question as it reminded more transition to autocracy. The Rose Revolution changed a lot of concepts. So, testing the democracy in Georgia in the light of illiberal democracy theory we can pose the following research questions: What political peculiarities had the regime of illiberal democracy in Georgia? What factors influenced revolutionary change of political regime in Georgia? Methodology The study will be qualitative in nature seeking to find answers to the proposed research questions through qualitative data collection during field work: documents study and analyses. A qualitative approach has been selected because the study proposes to understand the origins of democratization in Georgia, and analyze the particular factors that may be affecting it. These factors include strengthening of civil society in Georgia, 10 building of constitutional liberalism, creation of political institutions, and the most important factor – role of media in this particular event. Given the nature of research questions, a qualitative study is better suited to understand changes in attitudes and perceptions during a period of time. According to Hamel, case studies usually analyze very deep detailed particular events under particular conditions and specific relationships between them (Hamel, 1993, p. 8). Researcher Robert K. Yin defines the case study research method as “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used” (Yin, 1984, p. 23). Different publications and reports will be analyzed to gain a better idea of challenges in democratization process. The data will consist of excerpts from various documents (Freedom House reports, on-line sources, books, periodicals) while ensuring that the context is preserved. The collected data will be organized to derive major themes, and illustrative case examples towards answering the research questions. I will also analyze different journals, books and articles related to the topic of research with the aim of
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