Political parties are necessary for the functioning of a modern democracy. The strength and degree of institutionalisation of a party system is often invoked as a reliable measure of the strength of democracy itself in a given country. Evaluation of

Early in 2007 the Georgian government launched a nationwide program of hospital sector restructuring deemed “100 New Hospitals.” The goal of the program is to transfer ownership of all state-owned, privately administered hospitals in Tbil

In his address to the Georgian parliament this summer, Joe Biden pointed to fundamental flaws within the Georgian political system and called for action to be taken. "The Rose Revolution will only be complete when... issues are debated inside this

Today, Georgia's media is less free and pluralistic than it was before the Rose Revolution in 2003 and the ousting of President Eduard Shevardnadze. While the country enjoys a pluralistic, albeit small print media, Georgia lacks a truly pluralist

The European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan states that the government of Georgia should develop a strategy paper and legislative framework for public internal financial control. In addition, the Georgian system of control and audit of public incom

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) provides a framework through which the EU can offer assistance and encourage political, economic and social reforms in its neighbours, both old and new. These reforms are intended to enhance democracy in the ta

In November 2006 the European Commission’s (EC) Georgia Cooperation Council adopted a new document to guide EU-Georgia relations: A European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Action Plan (AP). Recognition as a European Neighbour offers a number of pot

Food safety in itself is important but it also has wider significance beyond the immediate khinkali dripping juice onto your lap. Issues involving food security, agriculture policy, import substitution, export markets and free trade are implicitly ti

Georgia is among the countries lagging in development. Economic advancement and production have not yet even caught up to the levels they stood at 15 years ago. Poverty is omnipresent and unemployment rampant. Official statistics indicate the unemplo

When evaluating the performance of any country or government on its promises of liberal and democratic reform, it is important to first assess how power and authority are divided in the given country and how we can qualify it in terms of regime. Only