PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN THE SOUTH CAUCASUS: POLITICAL TRANSFORMATIONS, IMAGINED UNITY, AND MEMORY DISCOURSES

The process of establishing institutions of presidential power began in the three South Caucasus republics in 1991. Decades of political crises and reforms later, the regimes in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan differ markedly. However, the practice of using history for political purposes remains invariably popular. All politicians resort to them. And, of course, those of them who have had a chance to sit in the presidential chair. The authors of the monograph mainly (but not only) focus on the analysis of election campaigns speeches and statements of future presidents and their most significant opponents. How statesmen appeal to the images of heroes and cultural figures, use historical plots and myths, and manipulate events from the often very distant past to achieve and maintain political power in the present. Nationalist ideologies in the countries of the South Caucasus are deeply historicized, and this fact largely determines the frequency of references to the past. The authors of this collective monograph seek to develop a critical approach to the study of memory politics and historical politics, and nationalist ideologies. The monograph has been prepared by a team of researchers under the grant project "How to win elections in Georgia" [No FR-18-8649] supported by Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRNSFG).