Georgia is at a critical juncture in its path to Europe. While the color revolutions across Eurasia have been undone one by one, one thing remains clear—the people of Georgia yearn for a European future. In order to secure that future, the next two years will be critical. Parliamentary elections in 2012 and a presidential contest in 2013 will test Georgia’s commitment to the democratic reforms that are a necessary part of its Euro-Atlantic integration. They will also represent a watershed moment in Georgia’s post-Soviet history; an opportunity to witness Georgia’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power.

Three years...

Georgia stands at a crossroads in its transition to democracy and faces significant security challenges in its neighborhood. As a nation committed to joining the Atlantic community, Georgia’s success is an important litmus test for US and European policy, and US and EU efforts to project soft power and propel democratic reforms in Europe’s eastern neighborhood.

Georgia has continued to transform itself from a failed state rife with corruption and destabilized by violent political and criminal factions and separatist conflicts into a free market democracy embedded in the West and its leading institutions, NATO and the European Union. This vision...

Georgia’s acceptance in the Euro-Atlantic community will be premised first and foremost on its democratic reforms. For over a decade, Georgia has taken steps to move closer to the West, bringing in Western investors, including through the construction of the landmark Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, and strengthening integration with NATO and the EU. Since 2003, Georgia has undertaken dramatic reforms to accelerate that process. After the Rose Revolution, governance and transparency improved and citizens gained trust in the education, law enforcement, and tax systems. The economy was revitalized and foreign investment grew, improving the quality of life of Georgian citizens. Yet, the...