Randall G. Holcombe
The voices of freedom in the Republic of Georgia (the former Soviet republic, not the home of the Bulldogs) will be substantially less audible thanks to a new law passed by Parliament. Organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from foreign sources must be designated as “agents of foreign influence.”
Nonprofits in Georgia that have advocated for freedom and free markets receive a substantial share of their funding through grants from foreign foundations. That is likely to come to an end.
This article offers some details on the new law, which is similar to a law in Russia that brands organizations that receive foreign funding as foreign agents. Most Georgians appear opposed to the law, and the real foreign influence here is Russia. As the article notes, Georgia has been trying to move away from the sphere of Russian influence and toward the EU, but that move is proving difficult.
Some readers may know that after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Georgia was one of the more corrupt former Soviet republics. That changed in the mid-2000s when new leadership brought free-market reforms, more freedom on all fronts, and, as a result, growing prosperity.
No comments:
Post a Comment