CaC
Title of the Research Project:
Democratization Through De-Securitization: Lustration Practices and the Nexus to Democratic Governance in Armenia and Georgia
Main Goals of the Research Project:
- Analyze the dependence of democratic transformation and institutional change (adoption of standards of good governance) on the bureaucratic tradition of the communist security apparatus in Georgia and Armenia
- Test the model of political bargaining between the old and new elites in transitions from authoritarianism to democratic governance, with a special focus on the continuity of pre-existing bureaucracy and governance practices
- Determine whether the built-in “control elements” of the former communist security apparatus (structural units or individuals and their respective “functional tradition” in the hierarchy of the political system) have a significant negative effect by preventing the national political systems from adapting to and adopting democratic procedures of Good Governance.
Short Description of the Research Project
The research draws on a comparative analysis of transitional democracies (Armenia and Georgia) to illustrate the quality of democratization processes (transition to good governance practices) with regard to a country’s ability to “liberate” state institutions from the deeply rooted influence of the former communist bureaucratic, normative and personal formal and informal security apparatus. If this still represents a major obstacle, which captures state institutions and creates stealthy centers of political decision-making, it directly undermines national policy objectives and the principle of democratic accountability. The research findings are expected to encourage academic scholarship to give more attention to the influence of security services in organizing systemic resistance to democratic change.