Azerbaijan significantly increased its investment in the Georgian economy last year, AzerNEWS reports, citing the National Statistics Office of Georgia. According to the statistics, Azerbaijan invested…
Day: March 11, 2026
Abkhazia is once again attempting to change its electoral system from a majoritarian model to a mixed (majoritarian-proportional) one.
Supporters and opponents of the reform exist both within the government and in opposition circles.
Later this week, a Civic Forum will bring together representatives of all political organisations in the republic as well as civil society groups. Participants will once again discuss this issue.
Against this backdrop, the Telegram channel “Abkhaz Analytical Center” has attempted to classify Abkhazia’s political organisations.
Classification by the “Abkhaz Analytical Center”
“It is important to note that Abkhazia has very few classical ideological parties. For this reason, the classification does not follow the traditional ‘left–right’ model. Instead, it focuses on political behaviour, social base and sources of legitimacy.
- State-administrative bloc (party of the current authorities)
Type: parties of the administrative system
Examples: United Abkhazia, Amtsakhara, Aitaira.
Ideological type: not a classical ideology, but pragmatic state paternalism.
Key characteristics:
- reliance on the state apparatus
- close ties with the bureaucracy
- weak ideological foundation
- politics through the distribution of resources
- focus on managed stability.
Political science often describes such parties as clientelist or system parties of power.
- National-sovereignty camp
Type: patriotic opposition
Examples: the Ainar party, various civic movements and media platforms
Ideological type: national-state conservatism
Key ideas:
- protection of sovereignty
- state and public control over land and resources
- resistance to external political pressure
- strengthening national and state institutions
- progressive development
- a social orientation.
Social base:
- politically active youth and the generation in their forties
- part of the veteran community
- urban politically active groups
- intellectuals
- traditionalists.
- Traditional patriotic camp of the old opposition
Type: veteran-elite opposition
Historically linked to the post-war political elite.
Ideological type: conservative state patriotism
Key features:
- a strong role for war veterans and the old elite of the Vladislav Ardzinba era
- emphasis on historical legitimacy and continuity
- focus on preserving post-war political traditions.
This camp long served as the main opposition but is gradually giving way to younger movements.
- Technocratic-economic camp
Type: pragmatic modernisers
This camp does not always take the form of separate parties. It more often includes groups within the government and the business community.
Ideology: economic pragmatism
Main ideas:
- investment
- infrastructure projects
- economic and political integration.
Critics often link this camp to risks such as:
- the sale of land
- apartment development projects
- growing influence of external capital.
Institutionally, this camp remains closely integrated into the United Abkhazia party.
- Civic-network movements
Type: new political environment
These include:
- Telegram channels
- analytical platforms
- opinion leaders
- public campaigns
Key features:
- high media activity
- weak formal structure
- the ability to mobilise public opinion quickly.
This phenomenon represents a relatively new development in Abkhaz politics. Many of these movements can largely be associated with the second camp.
Final political science conclusion:
Politics in Abkhazia today does not divide into “left” and “right”. Instead, it revolves around three major logics of power:
- The administrative system — parties of power.
- The national-sovereignty opposition — new political and civic movements.
- The old patriotic elite — the traditional opposition (and former authorities).
The conflict between the administratively based system with a liberal tilt and the sovereignty-oriented traditional camp now defines the main line of political struggle in the country.
Terms, place names, opinions and ideas suggested by the author of the publication are her / his own and do not necessarily coincide with the opinions and ideas of JAMnews or its individual employees. JAMnews reserves the right to remove comments on posts that are deemed offensive, threatening, violent or otherwise ethically unacceptable.
Новости в Абхазии
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze met with Israel’s Ambassador Walid Abu Haya on March 11 amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Kobakhidze “expressed concern over the developments in the Middle East and extended condolences to Israel over the loss of lives,” the government administration said in a press release. He also “expressed hope that peace will soon be restored in the region and emphasized the importance of stability for the well-being of countries and their peoples.” According to the press release, the meeting also touched upon the “centuries-long friendly relations between Georgia and Israel.”
Israel’s embassy has not yet reported on the meeting.
The meeting took place a day after Irakli Kobakhidze congratulated Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on his “election” as the new Supreme Leader of Iran, succeeding his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes at the outset of the war.
Hours after Kobakhidze’s congratulatory message was published, Israel’s Embassy in Georgia posted on Facebook about Mojtaba Khamenei, describing who he is and pointedly commenting on the context, even though the post did not directly mention Kobakhidze’s letter.
In the post, the embassy stressed that, while the name of Iran’s leader has changed, “the reality has not,” saying the man now leading Iran is both a “product” and an “architect” of the “same machinery of repression and destabilization that defined the era” of his father, Ali Khamenei.
Amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, the Georgian Dream government on March 2 extended condolences to both Iran and Israel. On March 7, Georgia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that a deputy foreign minister made an entry in the book of condolences at the Iranian Embassy that was “analogous” to the government’s earlier statement.
Meanwhile, the State Security Service of Georgia said it launched a probe into public statements by experts, critics, and opposition figures regarding alleged Iranian recruitment activities in Georgia. The agency said it is examining the “contents” and “motives” of those allegations, and several commentators have been summoned for questioning as part of the investigation.
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