Saakashvilism

Saakashvilism is the ideology of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

History
Mikheil Saakashvili became the President of Georgia following the Rose Revolution that forced the resignation of Eduard Shevardnadze. The Rose Revolution was denounced in Pro-Russian Media such as Russia Today and  The Grayzone as a "NATO-backed Color Revolution, " exploited by western corporate interest groups to keep Georgia out of Russia's sphere of influence even though Shevardnadze also was a Pro-NATO leader.

Saakashvili expanded Georgia's role in the Iraq War which had already begun under Shevardnadze. By 2008, Georgia had deployed 2,300 troops in Iraq, becoming the third-largest contributor of troops in the war. In 2004 Georgia joined the War in Afghanistan as well 2004 and the country had become the largest non-NATO, troop contributor to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan by late 2012, with over 1,560 personnel on the ground at the time.

Domestically, Saakashvili tried to fix the problems that plagued his predecessor's administration. He managed to reduce corruption in the government and took a firm hand against  crime resulting in a spike in the incarceration rates. Saakashvili was accused of authoritarian tendencies such as abuse of power and arresting political opponents under the guise of fighting crime and corruption. He also implemented broad privatization and  neoliberal policies that resulted in rapid economic growth but increased wealth gaps and inequality.

Saakashvili's administration also oversaw the 2008 Russo-Georgian War with Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, on the other. The war resulted in 200-300 civilian casualties on both sides respectively and around 200 000 civilians displaced.

Saakashvili's reputation was further damaged by the 2012 Gldani prison scandal which exposed the abuse and torture of inmates in the Georgian prison system. Saakashvili's presidency came to an end in 2012 and he left his home country for the US and eventually settled in Ukraine. In 2014 criminal charges were filed by the Georgian prosecutor's office against Saakashvili over abuse of power and corruption. In 2015, Saakashvili gave up his Georgian citizenship in exchange for Ukrainian citizenship to avoid imprisonment in his home country. He eventually returned to Georgia in 2021 and was immediately arrested and remains to this day in prison under poor health conditions.

Friends
WIP

Mixed
WIP

Enemies
WIP

Further information
Mikheil Saakashvili