Georgia is sliding towards autocracy after government moves to force through bill on ‘foreign agents’

Georgia’s ruling party attempted to pass a controversial bill on “foreign agents” in March 2023. The law would have required civil society groups and the media to register as being “under foreign influence” if they receive funding from abroad. This type of funding is a lifeline for most non-governmental organisations on human rights as they often receive scant domestic support.

The move to restrict NGOs in Georgia is part of a larger trend to weaken democratic forces in autocratizing and autocratic countries. Whether Russia is directing this trend is unknown, but the Kremlin has certainly been a trailblazer in dismantling civil society and undermining NGOs. This caused several pro-democracy aid agencies to pull out of Russia, including the US Agency for International Development, the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute.

Kyrgyzstan has also followed suit. In March 2024, Kyrgyzstan’s president signed a “foreign representatives” law that was copied almost entirely from the Russian equivalent. It would apply the designation of “foreign representative” to any NGO that receives foreign funding and engages in vaguely defined “political activity”.

Abandoning democracy The Georgian government’s decision to revisit its foreign agents law is reflective of how vast Russia’s influence over post-Soviet countries has become. This is in line with the Kremlin’s crackdown on LGBTQ people, particularly since the start of the war in Ukraine. In 2022, a bill was expanded to criminalise any act regarded as an attempt to promote what Russia calls “non-traditional sexual relations”.

Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)

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