An undisclosed story of roses: church, state, and nation in contemporary Georgia

Abstract

Since the Rose Revolution (2003), Georgia has encountered an unprecedented scale of institutional reforms concomitant with the rise of American and European involvement in the “democratization” process. Various scholars have suggested that Georgian nationalism developed from an ethno-cultural basis to a more civic/liberal orientation after the Rose Revolution. This paper analyzes Georgian nationalism under President Mikheil Saakashvili to demonstrate the significant divergence between political rhetoric on national identity, the selection of symbols, and state policy toward the Georgian Orthodox Church versus state policy toward ethnic minorities. The aim of this article is to examine the at times conflicting conceptions of national identity as reflected in the public policies of Saakashvili's government since the Rose Revolution. It attempts to problematize the typologies of nationalism when applied to the Georgian context and suggests conceptualizing the state-driven nationalism of the post-Rose Revolution government as “hybrid nationalism” as opposed to civic or ethno-cultural.

Thirty Years of Nation-Building in the Post-Soviet States

“…However, the ethnic minorities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia resisted the imposition of Georgian rule, winning de facto independence in 1993 thanks to military support from Russia. The desire to win back control of those provinces was an important factor behind the Rose Revolution of 2003, which bought to power Mikheil Saakashvili, who tried to tackle corruption and align Georgia with the West (Metreveli 2016). This is another example of the synergy between nationalism and democracy.…”

Beyond Neoclassical Economics: The Impact of Religion on the Economic Disparity Between Georgia and Estonia

“…Furthermore, the church became free of the revenue tax and taxes related to its production, non-commercial property, and land. (Grdzelidze, 2010) Georgian lari-approximately 125 million US dollars-of funding (Metreveli, 2016) throughout the past twelve years. Saakashvili's regime also increased the funding to the church since November 2007, which was the period when his regime faced both internal and external criticism for the crackdown of opposition protests in the country (Gredzildze, 2010).…”

“…Source: Metreveli, 2016 In turn, the significant position of the Orthodox Church in Georgia's politics can be considered both a direct and an indirect hindrance to Georgia's economic development-direct because the substantial portion of the government revenue given to the church could instead have been spent on factors that could hasten Georgia's economic development, and indirect because the church has revealed tendencies and characteristics that counteract factors conducive to economic development. For example, the Georgian Orthodox Church has called for the re-establishment of a monarchy in Georgia (Grdzelidze, 2010), which would subsequently strengthen the ethnic nationalistic sentiments in the state and impede democratization.…”

Rhyming the National Spirit: A Comparative Inquiry into the Works and Activities of Taras Shevchenko and Ilia Chavchavadze

“…Similar references could be found in speeches of the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. In a "hybrid nationalist" discourse (Metreveli 2016), in which Saakashvili intertwined ethno-religious particularism with elements of civic nationalism, he compared Chavchavadze (himself by that point an Orthodox Saint) to Patriarch Ilia 2nd of the Georgian Orthodox Church who, according to Saakashvili, "… did the same in 1970s what Chavchavadze did in 19th century, when the latter managed to establish a 'new Georgian identity' based on multi-century traditions" (Saakashvili 2010, Civil.Ge, December 30, 2010. Often misinterpreting Chavchavadze's writings to suit political context or legitimize partisan agenda, Saakashvili referred to the poet's social thought as an example of how state interests should be understood by citizens: " [Chavchavadze] had permanently tried to prove and show to Georgians that the state interest is higher than private issues of each member of the society" (Saakashvili, InterpressNews, November 6, 2009).…”