Leader Versus Party: Georgian Experience

Abstract

This paper focuses on the transformation of party system institutionalization in post-Soviet Georgia.  Political parties are weakly institutionalized and personalized and the level of popular trust towards political parties is low in Georgia. The personalization of political parties, always inspired by their leardrs’ personalities. The first of such parties, the round table – free Georgia was built around the personality of Zviad gamsakhurdia. The leader’s party was Citizen’s Union of Georgia, built around Eduard Shevardnadze. Also, the adjarian regional leader Aslan Abashidze built Georgian Revival Union. The same is true of United National Movement built around Mikheil Saakashvili and Georgian Dream founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili.  As a result of analysis had been revealed that Georgian party system suffers crisis in the term of institutionalization. On the one hand the weakness of program / ideological connection between parties and electorate and articulation-aggregation of public interests remains as an unsolved problem in party system. The political parties do not have a sense of stability and are focused on short-term success. On the other hand the personalization of politics and special dependence on the leader even more escalates crisis in the party system institutionalization. The absence of ideological watershed between the political parties contributes to the instability of electorate.  The voter often can’t see fundamental difference between the parties.