Creeping Authoritarianism in Higher Education and research in georgia: What A Difference A War Makes?

Abstract

In September 2023, one of the buildings belonging to the National Historical Archives of Georgia caught fire, destroying many valuable cinematographic and audio materials from Soviet times. The authorities downplayed the incident, claiming that most of these materials had already been digitized, with copies kept in a separate building. But the incendiary event has fuelled accusations against the Georgian Dream party for having a careless attitude towards Georgia’s historical legacy. Moreover, these accusations come at a time when the ruling party’s authoritarian and pro-Russian tendencies – increasingly difficult to explain away since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022 – are felt with growing impact in various spheres of activity ranging from the political to the cultural. Yet, Georgia still ranks relatively high on the academic freedom index, and considerable scholarly exchange continues between Georgia and the rest of the world. Therefore, the question arises as to whether any authoritarian tendencies are detectable in the academic sphere and if Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine has had any measurable effect on the nature and conduct of higher education and research in Georgia. After providing the relevant historical background and context for current events, this piece argues that the creeping authoritarianism manifest today in the political, civic, media-information and arts-cultural spheres under Georgian Dream is also taking place in the academic sphere, albeit ‘under the radar’. This subtle shift is part of a general regression – which intensified after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late-February 2022 – back to the dysfunctional patterns inherited from the Soviet Union.