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Georgia’s democracy is being quietly strangled

Georgia’s democratic decline has arrived quietly through procedural changes and repressive laws disguised as promoting transparency. Yet the cumulative effect is unmistakable: a former success story is being hijacked by an authoritarian regime systematically capturing its institutions. The question is no longer whether Georgia’s democracy is eroding, but whether that erosion has now become irreversible.

April 21, 2026 - George Melashvili - Hot TopicsIssue 3 2026Magazine

Photo: Mirko Kuzmanovic / Shutterstock

Georgia’s democratic decline has rarely announced itself with fanfare. Instead, authoritarian consolidation has arrived quietly through procedural amendments, ministerial reshuffles, and repressive laws disguised as promoting transparency. Yet the cumulative effect, now documented by the OSCE’s own Moscow Mechanism rapporteur in a March 2026 report, is unmistakable: what was once a success story born on the ashes of communism is now being hijacked by a regime systematically dismantling the institutional architecture of democracy and fundamental rights protection. The question is no longer whether Georgia’s democratic framework is eroding or whether authoritarian consolidation has taken place. Instead, the question now is whether that erosion has become irreversible.

Three pillars, one system

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