Georgia’s Journey Towards Democracy: Civil-Military Relations and National Security Decision Making in a Former Soviet Republic

Georgia’s Journey Towards Democracy: Civil-Military Relations and National Security Decision Making in a Former Soviet Republicexamines Georgia’s path toward democracy from its independence in 1991 to the present time, emphasizing the role of civil-military relations in that journey. The research offers a historical review of the political events that impacted the country’s uneven movement to democracy and the personalities who steered the country forward. Using Samuel P. Huntington’s concept of an authoritarian transition that is unique to modernizing states, and especially with the former Soviet republics, the research concludes that Georgia remains in its authoritarian transition, but also raises the issue that this transition may have been further derailed by state capture. This study is important for donor states to understand the historical and cultural traditions that affect the effectiveness of their assistance to Georgia. Georgia’s Journey Towards Democracy concludes with several recommendations to assist Georgia to advance toward becoming a united liberal democracy and the necessity to free its civil-military relations from partisan politics and state capture.

Ronald Scott Mangum is retired United States Army Brigadier General whose final command was the joint-theater level Special Operations Command Korea, SOCKOR.