"From Western Aspirations to Eastern Shadows: Analyzing Georgia’s Path from Perestroika to the Foreign Influence Law and its Implications for EU Integration"

Georgia's post-Soviet path has been shaped by its ongoing efforts to integrate with Western institutions, amidst internal political challenges and external pressure from Russia. This thesis investigates Georgia's democratic backsliding, applying Levitsky and Ziblatt's (2018) democratic backsliding framework, with a particular focus on the Foreign Influence Law's effects on civil society, media freedoms, and Georgia's prospects for EU membership. The study relies on qualitative research methods, including semi-structured interviews and secondary document analysis, to examine the wider political consequences of the Georgian Dream party's governance. According to the findings, the Foreign Influence Law has contributed to restricting civil society activities, silencing independent journalism, and fostering a political climate conducive to authoritarianism. These tendencies align with Russia's foreign agent regulations, employed as a means of controlling opposition voices. Moreover, interviewees expressed widespread skepticism towards political institutions, noted a decline in voting integrity, and observed an increase in state-sponsored repression of protest movements. The study also places Georgia's experience in the context of comparative cases of democratic backsliding while examining the EU's varied responses to democratic decline in its periphery. The results underline the strategic relevance of EU engagement in stopping Georgia's democratic backsliding and demand further diplomatic pressure, focused sanctions against anti-democratic elements, and more backing of independent media and civil society organizations. This study gives voice to the continuous discussion on authoritarian encroachment in hybrid governments and the function of outside actors in either halting or accelerating democratic loss as Georgia is ready for a pivotal turning point.