Police reform in Georgia. Cracks in an anti-corruption success story

Abstract

The significant reduction of street-level police corruption has been hailed as one of the success stories of post-revolutionary Georgia. However, a closer look reveals that the broader reform of Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has a number of shortcomings. While police no longer harass people for bribes, human rights abuses persist and weak accountability of police structures remains a significant problem. In the absence of external controls, a real break with Soviet-style institutional structures has yet to take place. Law enforcement in Georgia is still perceived to safeguard government authority before civilians in need of protection.