Is He Really All That Great?

Matt, who just started secretplans.org (which has a neat logo if for no other reason that it makes me think of these guys) has a post up pointing out that there are reasons to be cautionary about Mikheil Saakashvili. Now, I have loads of problems with Mark Irkali’s article in Sobaka (such as his allegation that Saakashvili and Slobodan Milosevic are remarkably similar), but he’s right to point out that Saakashvili is not all sunshines and kittens like many, including often myself, make him out to be.

While it lacks the entertaining flair of Sobaka, EurasiaNet has what I feel is a much more balanced look at the Saakashvili record.

…even while popular support for the reform leader’s Rose Revolution remains unchanged, concerns are growing that Georgia’s aggressive anti-corruption campaign has undermined respect of human rights and rule of law. In the push to strengthen Georgian statehood, critics say, dissent has been stifled and civil society weakened. Some analysts, however, counter that any missteps in Saakashvili’s rule are not a sign of growing authoritarianism, but, rather, of a lack of experience in governance.

They also mention that there’s a huge incentive to arrest former officials on corruption charges, even if somewhat exaggerated, because it’s so popular. In defense of the Saakashvili government, I think it’s important to remember that these guys and gals are all extremely young and many have little to no experience in government (politics is another matter). They swept to power saying they would sweep out corruption and punish wrongdoers. Following through on that is going to look a whole lot like an attempt to solidify the new government’s hold on power, even if it may not be. I think that it is absolutely crucial for us to pressure the Georgian government to maintain balance between parliamentary and presidential powers (some constitutional changes have given the president more power recently). There’s something special going on in the Caucasus and it’d be nice to guarantee it lasts.

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Nathan – author of 924 posts on Registan.net.