This pane l will bring together leading scholars and practitioners to examine Georgia ’s democratic trajectory situating it within broader examples of authoritar ianism\, the use of lawmaking and other formal legal mechanisms to consolid ate power and undermine democratic accountability. This panel will explore the country’s post-independence on democratic development\, recent politica l and institutional strains\, and the role of law\, institutions\, and civi c resistance in shaping democratic resilience. The discussion will situate Georgia within broader debates on autocratic legalism and the use of formal legal mechanisms to consolidate power and weaken accountability.
Grzegorz Ekiert is Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Government at Harvard University\, director of the university’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies\, residen t faculty at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies\, and senior scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies. His res earch and teaching interests focus on comparative politics\, regime change and democratization\, civil society and social movements and East European politics and societies. His papers have appeared in numerous social science journals in the US\, Europe and Asia and in many edited volumes.
Ana Natsvlishvili is an award-winning human rights and po licy expert\, with over 15 years of experience in designing and implementin g human rights and justice sector research and monitoring\, advocacy and li tigation\, policy reforms and oversight. She has served as a chair of Georg ian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA)\, Representative to the Parliament to the 4th President of Georgia and a member of the Parliament of Georgia (202 0-2024).
Mark Dietrich is the Vice President of the East-West Management Institute (EWMI)\, a New York based not-for-profit organization that implemented rule of law and civil society strengthening projects in Georgia from 2010 – 2025\, funded by the United States Agency f or International Development (USAID). Mr. Dietrich has implemented\, design ed and directed rule of law programs around the world since 1993\, includin g in Albania\, Bulgaria\, Ecuador\, Liberia\, Romania\, Russia\, Sri Lanka\ , Ukraine\, and Uzbekistan. Mr. Dietrich is also President of the Alliance for American Rule of Law (AAROL)\, a new organization dedicated to protecti ng the rule of law in the United States\, and is a member of the New York B ar.
The discussion will be moderated by Nana Kruashvili\, LL.M . ’26\, Harvard Law School.
Organizers: This event is co-hosted by th e Harvard European Law Association and supported by the Program on Georgian Studies at the Davis Center\, Harvard University