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Irakli Sirbiladze

@iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social
490 followers 467 following 94 posts

Researcher; Georgia, the EU and Eurasia; IR Theory; GMF's ReThink.CEE Fellow 2023; Queen Mary University of London graduate.

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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
Carnegie Democracy @carnegiedcg.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
🆕Civil society is in danger of getting squeezed – in some countries, almost entirely out of existence. A new report, edited by @richardyoungs.bsky.social and Elene Panchulidze, suggests that we need radically different protections. Their authors have ideas⤵️
europeandemocracyhub.epd.eu
New Approaches to Defending Global Civil Society - European Democracy Hub
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
In this piece for Civil Georgia, I try to look at how government-driven Euroscepticism and autocratization interact with the structural challenges facing Georgia, and how pro-democracy actors must navigate these dynamics to sustain the country’s democratic foundations. civil.ge/archives/718...
civil.ge
Analysis | Checking Georgia’s Anti-EU Drift - Civil Georgia
Since Georgia regained its independence in 1991, the ruling elites and the broader public have conve
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
The final verdict is in. foreignpolicy.com/2025/09/30/d...
foreignpolicy.com
Donald Trump Will Never Be a Restrainer
The final verdict is in.
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
Spread the word! Do not forget Georgia! www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
From my prison cell in Georgia, I implore Europe not to abandon us to Russia | Mzia Amaglobeli
My fellow journalists are putting their lives in danger every day, but we refuse to surrender to a regime that threatens Europe’s own security, says imprisoned Georgian journalist Mzia Amaglobeli
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
Mariam Nikuradze @mariamnikuradze.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
290th day of protest. "Protect visa free [regime with EU]" - was the main message for today. More photos: www.instagram.com/p/DOjd0SPjIw...
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
290 day of uninterrupted protest 🇬🇪
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
What a paper!
hcss.nl
Blinded By Bias: Western Policymakers and Their Perceptions of Russia before 24 February 2022 - HCSS
Why did so many Western governments fail to anticipate Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, despite all the warning signs? Based on 44 interviews and in-depth analysis, this groundbreaking new HCSS repo...
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
Averting acute escalation in Russia's war against Ukraine url: academic.oup.com/ia/article/1...
academic.oup.com
Averting acute escalation in Russia's war against Ukraine
Since 2022 Russia's war against Ukraine and western military assistance for Ukraine's defence have continued to raise dangerous escalatory risks. Referenci
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Right before the EU 'visa free deadline'. civil.ge/archives/698...
civil.ge
Authorities Freeze Bank Accounts of Seven NGOs in ‘Sabotage’ Criminal Probe - Civil Georgia
Georgian authorities have frozen the bank accounts of seven civil society organizations as part of w
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
A peace treaty would settle a long and bloody conflict—and create new geopolitical options in the region. foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/26/a...
foreignpolicy.com
With the Armenia-Azerbaijan Deal, It’s a New Era in the Caucasus
A peace treaty would settle a long and bloody conflict—and create new geopolitical options in the region.
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
LSE Blogs @lseblogs.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
The Russia-Ukraine war isn't just about Trump and Putin. Russia’s imperial state structure shapes the state’s behaviour, regardless of who leads it or how the West reacts. ✏️‬@pierzynskigabriel.bsky.social @ho-centre.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Why the Russia-Ukraine war isn’t just about NATO and Putin
Even without Putin, Russia may have invaded Ukraine. Russia’s imperial state structure shapes state actions regardless of who leads it or how the West reacts.
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
Georgian Dream uses all the repressive measures at once. Still, the protests carry on.
civil.ge
Court Grants Request for Detained Activist’s Involuntary Examination in Psychiatric Facility - Civil Georgia
Tbilisi City Court has granted prosecutors' request of involuntary transfer of detained activist Nin
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
Some good read there journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
journals.sagepub.com
International relations and the revolutionary geopolitics of the European New Right - Jean-François Drolet, Michael C. Williams, 2025
The international politics of the 21st century has seen a remarkable surge in geopolitical thinking and rhetoric, in evocations of both Europe and the West, and...
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
Due to protests, Georgian Dream also withdrew the first foreign agent law in 2023. Then you know what happened. The point is, once autocratic logic sets in, it can resurface. Ukrainians must remain vigilant.
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
Khazaradze sure has money but that cannot buy the popularity he and his party desperately needs to be a sole opposition player. They are so unpopular, the best they can do is to organize meetings with their party members and they will probably struggle even with that.
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
Sonja Schiffers @sonjaschiffers.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Across the #SouthCaucasus, democratic spaces are shrinking at an alarming pace. Join us for an urgent conversation about #authoritarianism, #resistance, & the future of #democracy in the South Caucasus. Wed, 09 July / 6:30 – 8:00 pm At @boell.de Berlin & online! calendar.boell.de/en/event/aut...
calendar.boell.de
Authoritarian Pressures in the South Caucasus: Can Democratic Practices Prevail?
Across the South Caucasus, democratic spaces are shrinking at an alarming pace. In Azerbaijan, where authoritarian rule is longstanding, repression has intensified significantly since late 2023. A wav...
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
German Marshall Fund @gmfus.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
🇬🇪 "Western partners can and must take steps to help Georgia back toward a more democratic path, which would also aid their geopolitical objectives." Read @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social‬'s latest insight:
gmfus.org
How To Help Georgia Out of Its Growing Democracy Crisis
Georgia is fighting for its political future. The ruling Georgian Dream party now governs through an expansive repertoire of repressive tools to stifle dissenting political voices. Pro-democracy…
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
Nicolas Bouchet @nickbouchet.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Very pleased about our new @gmfus.bsky.social policy brief by @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social, taking stock of Georgia's democracy crisis and its international context, with a clear view of how Europe and the US can and should help address it, not least by supporting the country's civil society
gmfus.org
How To Help Georgia Out of Its Growing Democracy Crisis
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
No one thought it before but seems like LinkedIn is becoming a new Twitter. Bluesky gotta do better job I guess
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
He also said Kier Starmer could not hold his head up when Kobakhidze was talking at the EPC panel 🤦‍♂️
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
It's become almost commonplace to say that the promise of democracy is that it will deliver higher standards of living. But that was never the claim made by the Chartists, the women's suffrage movement or those who struggled to win democracy in the past. And it's a bad test to set for the present.
Quote from newspaper article with highlighted text: "Years of stagnation have broken liberal democracy’s central compact with voters, that it is the best system to deliver prosperity for each generation."
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
"When citizens must think twice about criticizing or opposing the government because they could credibly face government retribution, they no longer live in a full democracy. By that measure, America has crossed the line." @stevelevitsky.bsky.social, @lucanway.bsky.social and @dziblatt.bsky.social
nytimes.com
Opinion | How Will We Know When We Have Lost Our Democracy?
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
In this piece, I argue that Georgia's attempt to pursue multi-alignment has fallen short due to its limited strategic value. Multi-alignment is successful if states offer value that forces all competing actors to accept the multi-aligning state’s engagement with their rival power.
gip.ge
Aligned or Multi-aligned? Georgia’s Foreign Policy in Flux
Georgia faces a mutually reinforcing domestic and foreign policy crisis. At home, unprecedented autocratization is met with unprecedented democratic resistance. In foreign policy, an increasingly auth...
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Some insightful readings on Russia and the Black Sea. There, you will find our article too.
transatlantic.org
Russian Intentions and Actions in the Black Sea - Transatlantic Leadership Network
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 05/05/2025
To address Europe’s most fundamental political and security challenges, European governments will need to design a new regional order—one that includes more fluid and flexible alliances, write @sophiabesch.bsky.social and @richardyoungs.bsky.social.
foreignaffairs.com
Europe Needs a New Way to Cooperate
How to fill the gaps created by the EU and NATO’s shortcomings.
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
The Rundown @therundowntvo.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Is Russia really that powerful? Is it a waning power coasting on the nostalgia of the Cold War? Or a power that punches well above its economic weight? @spaikin.bsky.social hears from @seva.bsky.social (@uoft.bsky.social), Kathryn Stoner (Stanford), and Angela Stent (Georgetown University)
youtube.com
Is Russia Weaker Than We Think? | The Agenda
YouTube video by TVO Today
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
The Conversation UK @uk.theconversation.com · 23/04/2025
It’s like complaining of a trade deficit with the local corner shop.
tcnv.link
Trump’s obsession with trade deficits has no basis in economics. And it’s a bad reason for tariffs
It’s like complaining of a trade deficit with the local corner shop.
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
In this short book chapter, we argue that there is a storm in the U.S.-Georgian relationship, and that GE re-committing to democracy and close ties with the US and the EU could help weather it. So far, the Trump Administration shows continuity in US policy toward Georgia. But things could change.
link.springer.com
Changing Times, Changing Priorities: Will the U.S.-Georgian Partnership Weather the Storm?
For some decades now, the U.S.-Georgian partnership has been deepening across many domains, even if Georgia would have welcomed stronger security, economic and people-to-people ties. The war in Ukrain...
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
"When taking on a controversy with life-and-death implications, recognizing this hierarchy of evidence is essential—as is the need for ensuring factual accuracy." www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/why-...
foreignaffairs.com
Why They Fight
What’s at stake in the blame game over Ukraine.
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Here you have President Salome Zourabichvili describing the EU's problem rather well. Screenshot from Civil.ge: civil.ge/archives/674...
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
So, what kind of ontological unit is the deep state?
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
"A critical risk in this looming trade war is the cascade of unintended consequences, where measures aimed at a single adversary provoke disruptions far beyond the original scope. "
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
Foreign Affairs @foreignaffairs.com · 27/03/2025
Listen to the latest episode of “The Foreign Affairs Interview,” featuring Jude Blanchette and Ryan Hass in conversation with editor Dan Kurtz-Phelan: fam.ag/4j9MNkk
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
Mariam Nikuradze @mariamnikuradze.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Georgian photojournalists and documentary photographers issued a joint statement regarding the decision of @WorldPressPhoto to award TASS photographer for his story on Georgia protests.
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
Ariel Edwards-Levy @aedwardslevy.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
in A.D. 2101 war was beginning
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Well, transatlantic relations at it best, innit? "Per the president's request we are working with DOD and State to determine how to compile the cost associated and levy them on the Europeans."
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
Ayşe Zarakol @aysezarakol.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
I made a meme. Americans unhappy with Trump need to accept there is not a normal to go back to.
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
Freedom House @freedomhouse.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
📉 60 countries experienced score declines in 2024 as elected leaders undermined the institutions that brought them to power and people around the world navigated devastating armed conflict. More data from #FreedomInTheWorld 2025: freedomhouse.org/report/freed...
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
UK Defence Journal @ukdefencejournal.org.uk · 10/03/2025
A group of six Bulgarian nationals residing in the UK have been convicted of operating a Russian spy ring, following an extensive counterintelligence investigation by the Metropolitan Police. ukdefencejournal.org.uk/six-arrested...
ukdefencejournal.org.uk
Six arrested for operating a Russian spy ring in UK
A group of six Bulgarian nationals residing in the UK have been convicted of operating a Russian spy ring, following an extensive counterintelligence investigation by the Metropolitan Police.
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Day 100
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
I don't remember the last time I read an article with such joy. This is a must-read for political theory and IR folks.
cambridge.org
The Rousseauian roots of neorealism | Review of International Studies | Cambridge Core
The Rousseauian roots of neorealism
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Reposted by Irakli Sirbiladze
UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
'Starmer has done it all very well, but it’s partly a question of circumstance... the EU clearly isn’t the optimal institution to handle all the things that are going on' 🇺🇦 UKICE's @anandmenon.bsky.social on Starmer & Ukraine crisis talks in @theguardian.com👇 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Britain is back: did Ukraine crisis talks create a post-Brexit turning point?
Keir Starmer won praise for taking the UK ‘back to the heart of Europe’ at the weekend, but will it be a long-term move?
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Russians are happy. Russia's power stems from Europe's powerlessness.
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
And finally it is snowing 🇬🇪
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Georgia has become a mulcting autocracy. Georgian Dream targets and fines everyone they notice protesting on the main Rustaveli Avenue. Sadly, international environment now enables autocrats to crack down on dissent even more. Pro-democracy actors everywhere are now on self-help mode.
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
Day 80 of resisting Georgia’s fast-paced autocratization. Imprisonments, fines and threats are the order of the day. But the Georgian Spring will bring victory against injustice 🇬🇪
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Irakli Sirbiladze @iraklisirbiladze.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Was one of them 🇬🇪
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Review of International Studies @risjnl.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
🚨New First View Article🚨 "The Rousseauian roots of neorealism" by @josephclarkson.bsky.social is now available online. And it's #OpenAccess! 📜➡️ buff.ly/418KYhi
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