The Shock of Publicity: Conflicting Public and Private Spheres in Contemporary Georgian Society

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between the public and private spheres in contemporary Georgia. As a transitory country, Georgia faces the issue of the Soviet legacy in the public sphere, while the destruction of its standards is a painful process. The fight against private property had reached even the physical bodies of individuals, who gradually started to discover them since the 1990s. To explore the forms that the transition conflict assumes in the public sphere, I have used a complex set of methodology including case studies, press analysis, focus group interviews and in-depth interviews with experts. This study shows that the manifestation of formerly absent and/or prohibited information in the public sphere causes a shock in the Georgian society.

It also claims that the functioning of the public sphere is under risk with the advent of the transparency paradigm. The results suggest that the Georgian community has become destructive and lost civility, and a big contribution to this process is due to the Georgian Orthodox Church which hinders the democratic process. This research adds value to the study of the ground that democracy faces in Georgia, as it reveals the challenges. Thus the present study intends to bring a valuable contribution to the understanding of the experiences of transitory and post-Soviet countries, where the transparency paradigm is imposed.

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