Academic Scientific JournalsOrthodox Power and Politics: How Church-State Ties Undermine Georgia’s EU Path
Keywords:
Church-state alignment, Foreign Agents’ Law, Georgia’s EU Integration, Civil SocietyAbstract
The paper explores the role of the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) in Georgia‟s Europeanization path by answering the question of how the alignment between the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) and the Georgian Dream government in supporting the “Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence” – the so-called "Foreign Agents‟ Law" affected Georgia‟s EU integration prospects. The paper is based on the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Process Tracing methods of analyzing all statements made in 2023-2024 of the church and state in tandem to explore the resisting actions of civil society, opposition, and the international community. The study reveals that the alignment of the ruling party with the GOC around the “Foreign Agents‟ Law” by framing the civil society and media as threats to national sovereignty, identity, and religious values, was one of the key triggers of Georgia‟s decision to suspend the accession talks with the EU.
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