Political Parties in Georgia: Issues of Party Financing
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 a party system is especially useful in analyses of countries with relatively short and/or mixed track records of democratic functioning. With a history of less than two decades, Georgian democracy is still quite young and volatile. According to the ENP AP, Georgia is to “encourage greater political pluralism: strengthen the role and functioning of political parties”. In light of these new responsibilities, a review of the Georgian political party system and the concerns of the parties is of urgent interest. Avoiding sweeping generalizations and superficial classifications, this report will look at the party system in Georgia in very general terms while focusing more closely on issues of party financing.
