Election results should never be a foregone conclusion, and democratic upsets are a healthy feature of the system. Nonetheless, when the incumbent pro-Russian governing party in Georgia declared itself the winner of national elections on 26 October, with some 54% of the vote, there was a massive outcry: polls had predicted a win for the opposition. This is a huge setback for the cause of democracy in the state — and the region, given that just a week earlier, a referendum on European integration in Moldova had ended with a tiny margin of victory for the pro-EU camp when a near landslide had been predicted.

The tentacles of autocracy are clearly reaching far and wide, tightening their grip upon the states surrounding Ukraine and bordering Europe — threatening both. To delve into these issues, Ilana Bet-El is joined by Salome Samadashvili, opposition Member of Parliament in Georgia, and Tinatin Japaridze, member of the Younger Generation Leaders Network (YGLN) and Eurasia Analyst at the Eurasia Group. This is a hard-hitting discussion on Georgia, the region, autocracy and democracy, covered with clarity, intellect and empathy.

This episode was recorded on 31 October 2024

Mentions and further resources

• Salome’s previous episode Georgia on the edge
• Tinatin’s book Stalin’s Millennials: Nostalgia, Trauma and Nationalism

Follow our guests

• Tinatin Japaridze LinkedIn, X/Twitter, Eurasie website
• Salome Samadashvil LinkedIn; X/Twitter

You can also follow us

• Instagram @women_leaders_podcast
• Our partner European Leadership Network social media Twitter, LinkedIn & Facebook
• Our partner European Leadership Network website
• Ilana Bet-El

Credits

• Production**:** Florence Ferrando
• Music: Let Good Times Roll, RA from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/let-good-times-roll License code: ZXIIIJUU2ISPZIJT

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