The Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP), a leading Tbilisi-based think tank established in 2011, announced it is suspending operations, citing an increasingly repressive environment but also a sense that its mission has been undermined amid the country’s anti-democratic turn.
“In light of the current political circumstances, the Georgian Institute of Politics has decided to suspend its operations indefinitely,” the think tank announced on October 2, two days before the country’s scheduled municipal vote. “We extend our sincere gratitude to all our beneficiaries, donors, and friends for their continued support and commitment over the years.”
The decision follows continued repressive and anti-democratic measures by the Georgian Dream authorities, including an escalating crackdown on independent media and civil society organizations. At least three separate laws have been introduced to restrict funding for non-governmental organizations and media outlets in Georgia, while authorities have also invoked additional legislation and criminal investigations in recent months to target independent watchdogs.
Speaking to Civil.ge, Kornely Kakachia, a prominent academic and political analyst who has led the institute for many years, said that while the repressive legislation made the organization’s physical operation impossible, a bigger issue was that the country’s trajectory had rendered the traditional mission of think tanks redundant.
“There is no place for think tanks under these circumstances,” Kakachia said. “You cannot fulfill the mission for which you founded it: to help the country’s democratic progress, the EU integration.”
Kakachia noted that the think tank had stopped carrying out its key function – providing policy recommendations – “because recommendations have lost their purpose. Who are you giving them to – the authorities who do not listen to the people, to the public?”
The professor also said that GIP is far from the first to halt its activities, citing reports of Georgian civil society organizations that have shut down and silently disappeared from the scene in recent months due to the repressive environment.
“I don’t see that Georgia needs a think tank unless something changes,” he noted.
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