On June 29, an official opening ceremony of the V-Dem Caucasus Regional Center was held at the University of Georgia.
The new center, established on the basis of the University of Georgia, serves as the official representation and main research hub in the South Caucasus of the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute, one of the world’s most authoritative research institutions affiliated with the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
The operational scope of V-Dem Caucasus covers Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and its main objective is to conduct in-depth research on democratic transformations, institutional changes, and social processes in the region, based on V-Dem’s global data and local empirical studies. The event was opened with a keynote speech by Stephen Wilson, Director of the V-Dem Institute.
He presented a talk on the topic: “The State and Trends of Democracy in Today’s World.” After the official part and presentation, a panel discussion was also held within the framework of the event, where participants discussed the state of democracy in the world and in the Caucasus region.
“As a result, a V-Dem representation has been established at the University of Georgia, which will be able to operate across the entire Caucasus region and conduct research activities. On the one hand, it will foster regional collaboration, and on the other hand, it will help disseminate the results globally,” says Konstantine Topuria.
The V-Dem Caucasus Center will generate knowledge about how democratic processes are unfolding both in Georgia and in the Caucasus region, what challenges neighboring countries face, and what achievements are shared through their cooperation on the international stage.
