ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the trajectory of defence reform and the involvement of the European union (EU) in good governance and support to national and human security in Georgia, also taking into account EU-Georgia cooperation in the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). It examines whether there is a role for the EU, alongside North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to strengthen democratic oversight, transparency, and accountability of the Georgian defence sector. In 1995 Eduard Shevardnadze consolidated power in Georgia and disbanded the paramilitaries. Nevertheless, Georgia’s defence sector remained beset by an inefficient organisational structure, chronic under-funding, rampant corruption and a consequent lack of military professionalism. The Georgian defence sector made huge reform progress in the years after the Rose Revolution, but some serious problems persisted while new ones were created. The August 2008 war between Georgia and Russia over the separatist region of South Ossetia brought to light the military consequences of the lack of executive accountability.
