Pro-Western or pro-Russian? Elections, foreign policy and inter-party rivalry in Georgia

Abstract

ABSTRACT The article studies Georgia’s relations with Russia and the West as an object of rivalry among Georgian political parties. It argues that political parties have instrumentalized Russian–Georgian relations by picturing a) other political parties, b) politicians, and c) government policies as pro-Russian, in an attempt to delegitimize their opponents. Since the Georgian political establishment perceives the West as a source of internal and external legitimacy, the instrumentalization of Georgia’s Western policy has taken place in a complex way. On the one hand, political parties have positioned themselves as pro-Western actors and depicted their opponents as a threat to Georgia’s Western future. On the other hand, being sensitive towards the West’s assessment of Georgia’s democratization process, they used it to delegitimize their opponents and legitimize themselves. Delegitimization attempts occurred not only between the ruling party and the opposition, but also among opposition parties themselves.