and third stages of this conceptualization.
V. ACTORS
VVThe reforms that have taken place since 2003 in Georgia have been outlined in detail – but it has not yet been addressed why these reforms took place. There was indeed domestic frustration with Shevardnadze’s endemic corruption and cronyism, but there was also a growing inclination to integrate with the West, a more stable social, political, and economic partner than Georgia’s neighbours in the South Caucasus. Different stakeholders identified different actors as being the most important, but virtually every single one acknowledged the importance of the European integration effort as an underlying factor.
VVAlthough it eventually became problematic itself, the Saakashvili administration is credited for initiating the anti-corruption campaign, and for demonstrating genuine will to address this social, political, and economic issue. The media and civil society then embedded these values, as well as that of public’s right to know its government’s agenda. The role of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank was raised in the literature, given that they provided a significant amount of capital to civil society organizations42.
VVThe Europeanization project, however, is the most important factor. Virtually every interview and many of the scholarly works consulted cite the European and Euro-Atlantic project of Georgia as one of the main motivating factors for this fight against corruption and embedding the value of transparency and accountability43. The Georgian government became affiliated with the EU when it joined the European Neighbourhood Policy in 2004, but it became a serious delegate in 2012 when it began negotiations for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement[2].
88842. Papava 2009
88843. Interview with Eurasian Partnership Foundation; Tbilisi, February 2014
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