Tinatin Khidasheli, Head of Civic IDEA, has published a new analytical article with CEIAS – Central European Institute of Asian Studies, examining a critical paradox shaping contemporary geopolitics and democratic resilience.
The article, titled “Europe’s Money, China’s Companies, Georgia’s Authoritarians: The Paradox Undermining Western Leverage,” explores how inconsistencies in Western economic and political strategies are weakening democratic conditionality and enabling authoritarian adaptation.
In the analysis, Khidasheli highlights three key dynamics:
- Erosion of Western leverage through inconsistency: While democratic backsliding is often addressed through political pressure and sanctions, international development financing continues to flow with limited democratic conditions.
- Opportunities for Chinese state-owned companies: Firms restricted or sanctioned in Europe and the United States are successfully securing major infrastructure contracts financed by Western-backed institutions.
- Georgia as a case study of authoritarian adaptation: The country exemplifies a broader pattern in which governments combine Western capital, Chinese companies, and fragmented accountability mechanisms to pursue modernization without democratic governance.
