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Technocratic Populism in Hybrid Regimes: Georgia on My Mind and in My Pocket
[journal article]
Abstract Most studies of technocratic populism have focused on democracies under stress (e.g., Italy, Czech Republic). This article builds on and extends these studies by analyzing a hybrid regime - post-Soviet Georgia - and argues that technocratic populism in this context is utilized as a façade to cover a... view more
Most studies of technocratic populism have focused on democracies under stress (e.g., Italy, Czech Republic). This article builds on and extends these studies by analyzing a hybrid regime - post-Soviet Georgia - and argues that technocratic populism in this context is utilized as a façade to cover authoritarian and oligarchic tendencies, while suspending (or reversing) democratization efforts. The state apparatus is weaponized against current and potential political opponents. Ideology is irrelevant, loyalty is key, and passivity is encouraged. The government aims to chip away at institutional checks and balances, and to demobilize the public by undermining confidence in the country's representative institutions while increasing dependence on experienced personalities, the 'can do experts.' The result is most often a stable partial-reform equilibrium. We illustrate this argument with evidence from Georgia, where Bidzina Ivanishvili, the richest man in the country, came to power in 2012 and, despite not holding any official position in the government since 2013, has run the state as a firm.... view less
Keywords
Georgia; USSR successor state; technocracy; populism; political system; authoritarian system; oligarchy
Classification
Political System, Constitution, Government
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Free Keywords
Ivanishvili; hybrid regimes; technocratic populism
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 580-589
Journal
Politics and Governance, 8 (2020) 4
Issue topic
Varieties of Technocratic Populism around the World
ISSN
2183-2463
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed