Democracy or Good Governance? Globalization, Transnational Capital, and Georgia's Neo-liberal Revolution

Abstract

Western aid donors merge democracy and good governance in theory and practice. Yet, since the 2003 Rose Revolution, Georgia's governance indicators have soared while its democracy scores have plummeted. The good governance–democracy merger constitutes an attempt by the transnational capitalist class to cultivate consent for its hegemonic project of neo-liberal globalization. This article highlights the personal and institutional networks connecting Georgian elites with the organizations involved in globalizing governance and democracy. It shows how these organizations are dominated by the representatives of transnational capital. Finally, it shows that Georgia, as an undemocratic but effective ‘governance state’, is not an exception.

Keywords:

• Georgia
• democracy
• governance
• democracy promotion
• neo-liberalism
• globalization

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank all those in Georgia who made this research possible, particularly Marina Mushkhelishvili and Gia Jorjoliani. The author would also like to thank David Chandler and the anonymous reviewers for their comments. All errors and omissions made are the author's own.

Notes on Contributor

Joel Lazarus is a lecturer in International Relations at University College, University of Oxford. ([email protected])

Notes

1 The OECD's Creditor Reporting System is accessible at: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/50/17/5037721.htm.

2 Data sourced from Georgian National Statistics Office. See http://www.geostat.ge/index.php?action=page&p_id=602&lang=eng.

3 Data sourced from World Health Organization at http://www.who.int/nha/country/world_tables/en/.

4 Data sourced from World Bank at http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/DT.ODA.ODAT.GN.ZS?display=default.

5 Data sourced from Georgian National Statistics Office. See http://geostat.ge/index.php?action=page&p_id=140&lang=eng.

6 I detail this dominance in an article entitled ‘Contesting the Hegemony of Democracy Promotion’, forthcoming in Critical Policy Studies.

7 The EU's opposition challenges any simplistic notions of total neo-liberal hegemony. Opposition also came from the American AFL-CIO which is supported by US state funding. The opposition reflects the international institutionalization of hard-won norms and laws concerning labour rights. My argument is not that the power of capital is total, but that it is hegemonic. Wherever there is hegemony there is resistance.

8 Georgia received over $2.3 billion in foreign aid over the duration of Eduard Shevardnadze's presidency (from 1994 to 2003). Figure computed from data at OECD/DAC International Development Statistics Database. See http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/50/17/5037721.htm.