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“Georgian Pride World Wide” “Georgian Pride World Wide” Extreme Right Mobilization in Georgia, 2014-2018 Tamta Gelashvili Master's Thesis in Peace and Conflict Studies Department of Political Science UNIVERSITY OF OSLO May 23, 2019 I “Georgian Pride World Wide” Extreme Right Mobilization in Georgia, 2014-2018 II © Tamta Gelashvili 2019 “Georgian Pride World Wide:” Extreme Right Mobilization in Georgia, 2014-2018 Tamta Gelashvili http://www.duo.uio.no/ Print: University Print Centre, University of Oslo Word Count: 31, 773 III Summary During the past few years, Georgia has witnessed an increased visibility of extreme right groups. On many occasions, these groups managed to bring exclusion-oriented issues to the agenda and at occupying public space, thus restricting opportunities for liberal groups and human rights activists. Even though the recent proliferation of extreme right groups has led to growing concern among political circles and civil society, these groups have not been researched in depth. To fill in this gap in literature, this thesis aims to understand how extreme right groups in Georgia mobilize. The thesis rests on social movement theory, according to which political opportunities and organizational resources influence the way movements frame their views and take action. This thesis demonstrates that, overall, extreme right mobilization opportunities in Georgia are limited. Yet, while the legal system of the country restricts extreme right mobilization and the political space only offers narrow opportunities to participate, the public opinion generally supports exclusion-focused policies. The fact that Georgian extreme right groups have limited organizational resources confines their ability to meet this public demand effectively. Yet, they try to capitalize on the insecurities prevalent in the society, adapting their strategies, frames, and actions accordingly. IV V Acknowledgements I wanted to thank my supervisor, Helge Blakkisrud, who went out of his way to provide guidance and assistance, for this thesis and beyond. Thank you for your considerate comments and thoughtful suggestions and for always being available and quick to respond, despite your busy schedule. I also wanted to thank my co-supervisor, Jacob Aasland Ravndal. First of all, thank you for your interest and suggestion to join Helge as the second supervisor. Second, thank you for your swift, on-point feedback and for noticing even the smallest details that completely slipped my mind. To the both of you – thank you for encouraging me to be bolder. If I did manage to communicate my findings in this thesis, it is surely due to your continuous reassurance and support. To the Department of Political Science of the University of Oslo – thank you for the fieldwork support grant that enabled me to travel to Georgia for two weeks and conduct interviews. To my fellow student, Sofia Lygren, thank you for reading through almost a hundred pages of my thesis, even if you had so much to do for your own, and for offering so many helpful suggestions. And to other PECOS students – I might have managed to stop by the University only a few times while writing this thesis, but the occasional meet-ups we managed to organize were always a pleasure. Last but not least, thank you, Nika, for being by my side throughout the whole process, with its ups and downs, and for being my biggest supporter, proofreader and adviser. Tamta Gelashvili Oslo, May 2019 VI VII Table of Contents Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... IV 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Literature Review ...................................................................................................................................... 5 3. Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................................. 8 3.1. Definitions and Conceptual Clarifications ......................................................................................... 8 3.2. Understanding Extreme Right Mobilization ...................................................................................... 9 3.2.1. Political Opportunities .............................................................................................................. 11 3.2.2. Organizational Resources ......................................................................................................... 12 3.2.3. Framing ..................................................................................................................................... 14 3.2.4. Repertoires of Collective Action ............................................................................................... 15 4. Research Design ...................................................................................................................................... 17 4.1. Analysis of Political Opportunities .................................................................................................. 17 4.1.1. Method and Sources .................................................................................................................. 17 4.1.2. Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 18 4.2. Analysis of Organizational Resources ............................................................................................. 19 4.2.1. Method and Sources .................................................................................................................. 19 4.2.2. Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 21 4.3. Frame Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 22 4.3.1. Method and Sources .................................................................................................................. 22 4.3.2. Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 23 4.4. Protest Event Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 25 4.4.1. Method and Sources .................................................................................................................. 25 4.4.2. Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 26 4.5. Ethical Considerations ..................................................................................................................... 27 5. Background: The Case of Georgia .......................................................................................................... 28 5.1. Recent Political History ................................................................................................................... 28 5.2. The Onset of Extreme Right Mobilization ....................................................................................... 29 5.3. Extreme Right Organizations in Georgia ......................................................................................... 31 5.3.1. Georgian Idea ............................................................................................................................ 31 5.3.2. Georgian March ........................................................................................................................ 32 5.3.3. Georgian Power......................................................................................................................... 33 5.3.4. National Socialist Movement – Georgian National Unity ........................................................ 34 VIII 6. Analysis of Political Opportunities ......................................................................................................... 36 6.1. Legal System .................................................................................................................................... 36 6.2. Political Space .................................................................................................................................. 38 6.3. Discursive Opportunities.................................................................................................................. 41 6.4. Political Opportunities: A Summary ................................................................................................ 45 7. Analysis of Organizational Resources .................................................................................................... 46 7.1. The Online Network of the Georgian Extreme Right ...................................................................... 46 7.2. Human, material and symbolic resources ........................................................................................ 48 7.3. Organizational Resources: A Summary ........................................................................................... 50 8. Frame Analysis ....................................................................................................................................... 52 8.1. Framing
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