The Rise and Fall of the Georgian Dictator: A Study of Zviad Gamsakhurdia's Presidency
Loading...
Authors
Lewin, Adam J.
Issue Date
1992-04-20
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
With the breakup of the Soviet Union into fifteen independent
republics, perhaps the single largest political problem for these
republics is in the establishment of true democracy in states that
have never been ruled by democratic regimes. This is epitomized by
the events which took place in the Georgian republic in 1990 through
early 1992. The popularly elected president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, began
ruling not as a democrat, but as an autocrat. He was able to
consolidate power to the point where the only way to remove him
from power was by force. This happened less than a year after he
was overwhelmingly voted into the presidency. Gamsakhurdia was
overthrown by a coalition of his opposition including many of his
former cabinet members. By examining Zviad Gamsakhurdia's model of how not to govern
in a democracy, perhaps it can serve as a warning to the other infant
democracies of Eastern Europe as to what can happen when a popular
nationalist is basically handed as much power as he desires.
If you are not a current K College student, faculty, or staff member, email dspace@kzoo.edu to request access to this SIP.
If you are not a current K College student, faculty, or staff member, email dspace@kzoo.edu to request access to this SIP.
Description
61 p.
Citation
Publisher
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder. All rights reserved.