Positive Public Attitudes in Georgia

In November 2013, CRRC conducted a survey on public attitudes in Georgia for the National Democratic Institute (NDI), with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The survey shows that Georgians are generally positive about the direction in which their country is going, the state of democracy in Georgia, and the current ruling coalition. Rural residents are even more positive than urban residents, and supporters of the Georgian Dream coalition (currently the majority force in parliament) have a more positive outlook than supporters of the previous ruling coalition, the United National Movement (UNM).

The November 2013 survey was the latest in a wave of surveys that CRRC conducted for NDI in November 2012 and March, June and September 2013, thus allowing for a comparison of attitudes over the last year. Overall, Georgians feel there has been improvement on a host of issues ranging from affordable healthcare and freedom of speech to the availability of kindergartens in the country. In fact, Georgians have a positive outlook for 28 out of the 32 issues examined. For instance, 66% of Georgians believe the situation regarding pensions has improved since October 2012. 44% think affordable healthcare has improved (3% believe that it has worsened), and 31% feel that media independence has improved (1% believe that it has worsened).

53% of Georgians also feel that Georgia is definitely or mainly going in the right direction, compared to 9% who say it is mainly or definitely going in the wrong direction. This positive response has increased from 39% in September 2013. There are also different perceptions of this question based on settlement type. Georgians living in rural areas have a slightly more positive outlook about the direction Georgia is going in (57%), than those living in urban areas (50%). Additionally, Georgian Dream supporters are more positive (67%) than UNM supporters (28%) on this question.

Overall, Georgians feel more positive about the state of democracy in Georgia than in the previous survey wave. When asked whether Georgia is now a democracy, 54% of Georgians respond affirmatively, up from 44% in September. Georgian Dream supporters are more positive about Georgia’s state as a democracy (64%) than UNM supporters (39%). However, when given a range of qualifications for democracy in their country, Georgians give more varied responses, as seen below:

Concerning the voting process, Georgians appear to have few concerns. The majority of Georgians said they did not encounter any problems with the voters’ lists on election day (97%), felt they had enough information about where to vote (95%), and thought they had enough information about voting procedures to vote without difficulty (94%). Also, a majority felt that the 2013 presidential election was well conducted (89%), compared to the 3% who thought it was falsified.

Finally, Georgians are also positive about the current government. 73% of Georgians completely or somewhat agree that the current government is making changes that matter to them, with 80% of rural Georgians and 85% of Georgian Dream supporters saying the same. In contrast, 24% of Georgians completely or somewhat agree that if the parliamentary opposition were in charge they would make the changes that matter to them, though 69% of UNM supporters completely or somewhat agree.

Thus, the November 2013 survey shows that, overall, Georgians feel positive about the direction in which Georgia is going, the state of democracy in the country, and the current ruling coalition. 

For more information, please visit NDI’s published survey results at on their website.

Youth Activism in the South Caucasus

Over the last two years, CRRC Georgia has been actively measuring the perceptions of Georgian youth on history and activism as part of a pan-European project called MYPLACE. The first results for Georgia should be ready in the coming months. Using results from the 2012 Caucasus Barometer (CB), this blog assesses the state of youth activism throughout the South Caucasus. Views related to political and civic participation are analyzed among Georgians, Armenians and Azerbaijanis between the ages of 18 to 25 years old in comparison to people over 25 years old.

For many people in the South Caucasus, voting in elections is their main form of political participation. The 2012 CB shows that the majority (all ages) of Georgians (91%), Armenians (84%) and over half of Azerbaijanis (68%) say they would participate in presidential elections if they were held next Sunday. Similarly, when asked if they voted in the last national election, well over half in all three countries said yes - 86% in Georgia, 80% in Armenia, and 61% in Azerbaijan. 

Opinions on whether or not people would vote in upcoming presidential elections are similar between those 18-25 and 26+ years old in Armenia and Georgia. However, in Azerbaijan, youth 18-25 (63%) are slightly less likely than the rest of the population (70%) to say they would vote in an upcoming presidential election.

Considering that presidential elections and other national elections are different (e.g., parliamentarian elections), a higher proportion of Georgian (75%) and Armenian (73%) youth said they voted in the last national election, compared to 37% of Azerbaijanis 18-25 years old who said the same. Interestingly, more youth said they would vote in a future presidential election than those who said they voted in a previous national election—a difference of 7% in Armenia, 13% in Georgia, and 26% in Azerbaijan.

Extra-parliamentarian participation (often called contentious politics) is harder to measure via a survey. Nevertheless, respondents of the CB 2012 had to indicate whether they agreed with the statement that “People should participate in protest actions against the government, as this shows the government that the people are in charge” (Statement 1) or “People should not participate in protest actions against the government, as it threatens stability in our country” (Statement 2), or neither. Although this is a question about intentions and not actual contentious political activism, it still allows us to better understand how protest actions are perceived in the South Caucasus. Among the total population, over half of Armenians (66%) and Georgians (54%) prefer the first statement—although almost a quarter of Georgians said they did not know or refused to answer. More Azerbaijanis prefer the second statement that people should not participate in protest actions against the government (43%), than the first statement (29%). There is also very little difference between answers from youth and the rest of the population.

* Statement 1: People should participate in protest actions against the government, as this shows the government that the people are in charge.
** Statement 2: People should not participate in protest actions against the government, as it threatens stability in our country. 

In some contexts, young people’s involvement in civil engagement, via such activities as volunteering, participating in a charity organization and attending public meetings, have been proven to increase their chance of also becoming politically active. In the survey, respondents were asked to mention if they had participated in various activities during the previous 6 months. Contributing to charity and giving to churches/mosques are the most popular activities. Volunteerism attracts more young people in Armenia. Furthermore, activities that are closer to the political sphere such as attending public meetings are less popular –although higher in Georgia.

* Including donations by sms and giving money to beggars.

For more information on youth activism in the South Caucasus, please visit our Caucasus Barometer database.