The path forward in Georgia: Will billionaire Ivanishvili invest in democracy?

Rule of law also requires investigation and equitable adjudication of the most egregious charges against the Saakashvili regime, such as numerous accusations of torture and confiscation of private property. A truth and reconciliation commission, like that of South Africa after apartheid, could help bring this about. It is critical that all Georgians see this process as fair, unlike what sources describe as extra-legal processes used by Saakashvili in 2003-4 to punish alleged offenders from the era of Eduard Shevardnadze – the former Soviet foreign affairs minister under Mikhail Gorbachev who served as post-independent Georgia’s second president until he was forced to resign in 2003.

Second, the new government must liberate the media. It can start by returning Imedi TV to the family of billionaire Badri Patarkatsishvili. The family alleges, with credible evidence, that after his death they were forced by Saakashvii to hand over ownership to unknown pro-government figures. The new government must also resolve the claims of the previous owners of Rustavi 2 TV and Mze TV, who allege that they sold the station to Saakashvili’s supporters under duress. Concurrently, the new government must not prevent Saakashvili’s National Movement – now the opposition – from having access to the media.

Third, putting the country on the path of economic growth requires restoring property rights; freeing business from state control and banning state-sanctioned monopolies; developing an innovative future for agriculture and organic farming; and creating an investment program to nurture small enterprises. Ivanishvili could use his vast personal resources to help jumpstart such investments. However, given that Georgia is completely broke, it will also need foreign aid and loans to implement growth policies.

Fourth, Georgia requires a real civil society to serve as a check on state power. As Alexis de Tocqueville observed, in America, citizens organize themselves through private associations to defend their interests. This civil society creates an independent private sphere in which mediating institutions can check the authority of the state. The most important elements of civil society in Western history have been the church and private enterprise.

Yet instead of following the American example, US foreign aid often incorrectly associates civil society not with religious, business, and other indigenous organizations of citizens, but with nonprofit organizations and nongovernmental organizations run by policy experts and funded by international donors. These NGOs are frequently disconnected from ordinary citizens and can neither channel the interests nor harness the civic spirit of the people.

To help nurture the Georgian democratic transition, American policymakers should seek to strengthen indigenous and local elements of civil society that already exist in Georgia, such as the Georgian Orthodox church. The church’s recent work to encourage a fair campaign and clean elections has shown that it can play a key role in curbing authoritarianism.

Irakly George Arison Areshidze works in Silicon Valley and is the co-creator of the popular travel technology Taxi Magic. He is the author of “Democracy and Autocracy in Eurasia: Georgia in Transition” (Michigan State University Press). Giorgi Areshidze is an assistant professor of government at Claremont McKenna College. They were both born in Georgia.

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