Public Opinion Archives

The most important issues facing Georgia, prior to the COVID-19 outbreak

29 June, 2020

What did Georgians think was the most important issue facing the country prior to the COVID-19 outbreak? The economy. The current COVID-19 outbreak will shift perceptions surely. Yet, the measures to fight the virus have slowed down the economy, exacerbating the previously…

The economic and educational consequences of child marriage in Georgia

20 January, 2020

Widely condemned as a violation of human rights, child marriage is associated with negative health outcomes — both physical and psychological. Aside from these clear issues, a growing body of research suggests child marriage also has economic consequences for both the women…

Georgia’s Foreign Policy Trilemma: Balance, Bandwagon, or Hedge? Part 2

13 January, 2020

The first part of this blog post discussed evidence of an association between perceiving Russia as the main threat to Georgia and a preference for a foreign policy that balances against that threat through alliances with the West. The relationship…

Georgia’s Foreign Policy Trilemma: Balance, Bandwagon, or Hedge? Part 1

6 January, 2020

Georgia is a small, partly free democracy in a tough neighbourhood, and NATO membership remains an unfulfilled promise. While Russia is widely perceived as the main threat to Georgia’s security, the appropriate strategic or political response to the threat is not obvious.…

Optimism Regarding EU membership is decreasing

9 December, 2019

Georgia is not a candidate for membership in the European Union (EU), but the government has the stated goal of joining the EU when the country is ready for it. According to the Knowledge of and Attitudes towards the EU in Georgia…

Knowledge of visa-free requirements falls since launch of scheme

18 November, 2019

Georgian citizens have been able to travel visa free within the Schengen zone for approaching three years, the result of several years of complex dialogue and policy reform. Despite the elapsed time, and a major EU-funded public information campaign, the results of the…

Government employees assess the work of the government better than the general public

11 November, 2019

The outlook in Georgia continues to be increasingly pessimistic, with more people reporting that the country is heading in the wrong direction. Similarly, performance assessments of government institutions have been on the decline in recent years. As recent CRRC analyses have highlighted, party identification,…

What divides and what unites Georgian society?

17 September, 2019

The last year has seen a number of conversations about polarization in Georgia. The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, even commented on the issue in his Batumi speech. One of the components of polarization, though not the sole factor,…