Commentary
Thomas de Waal
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Source: Getty
Testimony
The State of Democracy in the South Caucasus
After twenty years of independence, the countries of the South Caucasus have yet to become truly democratic and pluralistic societies.
Published on May 23, 2012
Source: U.S. Helsinki Commission
In a briefing at the U.S. Helsinki Commission, Carnegie’s Thomas de Waal commented on the upcoming elections and the state of democracy in the South Caucasus. The governments of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, he argued, resemble the Russian model of “a one-party state with managed democracy.” He added that “Azerbaijan is the most authoritarian and Georgia the most democratic, with Armenia somewhere in between.” De Waal described elections as an important “health-check on the state of democracy in these countries” but also pointed to bigger problems in each country’s political culture.
Instead of focusing exclusively on elections, he suggested that “widening the whole political space” would help create more pluralistic societies. Given the “big gap between what happens in the capital and in the rest of the country,” different strategies for capital cities and provinces are necessary. Independent media remains underdeveloped and stifled, while state “media and in particular television, which is the overwhelmingly dominant medium of news coverage, shape the political narrative in favor of the governing administration,” de Waal concluded.
About the Author
Thomas de Waal
Senior Fellow, Carnegie Europe
De Waal is a senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.
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Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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