the behaviour of public officials in the private sector. However, there is no agency mandated with monitoring or enforcing these laws, so there is no mechanism once the laws have been breached49.
VVThe public grew to realize that Saakashvili had reverted to some pre-revolutionary practices. This has been argued to be due to four main reasons: the concentration of power in the executive branch, the practice of nepotism rather than merit-based accumulation of power, a weak and fragmented party system that creates competition so intense that vote-rigging may be tempting, and a lack of respect for constitutional and electoral law50. The fragmented party system is not, however, an ideological split. The government and the opposition agree that having a western orientation (away from Russian influence) is a beneficial course of action to pursue. The friction lay on Saakashvili’s methods, and his excessive concentration of power. This resulted in a “hegemonic party system of the Soviet past”51.
VVAlthough the failures of the Rose Revolution are significant, the paradigm shift that occurred in the civil society is entrenched – the successes arguably outweigh the failures. Georgia raised its Transparency International ranking to 55th, from 124th in 2003 (a spot it shared with its neighbour, Azerbaijan). Thus, the future trajectories should be speculated.
VII. FUTURE PROSPECTS AND TRAJECTORY
VVThe top-down crackdown on corruption at the lower, petty level was incredibly successful and effective. The change in government in 2013 was peaceful, and the election was uncontested. However, the system-level issues remain, particularly elite corruption and the weak judiciary. If the Parliament is able to exercise oversight of the government, and if the judiciary is strengthened, many stakeholders are optimistic of the further development that Georgia could be able to undergo[1]. A recurring theme in the field research conducted was that although the government’s emphasis has been on
88849. Interview with Transparency International; Tbilisi, February 2014
88850. Tatum 2009
88851. Tatum 2009, p.166
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