Fulbright Proposal
This is the proposal I submitted when I applied for the Fulbright in the fall of 2007. Clearly the situation in Georgia has shifted, as have some details of my plans, but I am going to still use this as the base of my study.
“PENSIONERS IN GEORGIAN CIVIL SOCIETY”
I am applying for a Fulbright travel grant to study pensioners as a component of Georgian civil society. I have long been interested in economic and democratic development in post-Soviet Georgia, and have focused this interest more narrowly on the subject of pensioners. Following Georgia’s recent “Rose Revolution,” expectations for democracy and standard of living have increased. This has not always corresponded with reality, and is especially notable in the case of Georgia’s elderly pensioners, as they are not experiencing much of the economic development that is reaching other parts of society. There is currently a movement in Georgia similar to Russia’s “Gray Revolution” where pensioners protested for benefits. I want to explore if this movement is viable in effecting political change or developing civil society. I plan to use this movement as a way of illustrating larger trends in Georgia, and evaluate Georgia’s progress after the Rose revolution as well as to understand values in Georgian society.
I first encountered and interacted with this group of people while traveling this summer, and since returning to University, I have found the topic continues to be complex and interesting to me, and a desire grew to continue studying them. The current pension is 38 Georgian Lari , about 20 USD, per month. Although pensions have risen in recent years, they are some of the lowest in post-Soviet countries, and much less than living wage, which is 150 Georgian Lari, as calculated by the Georgian Department of Statistics, reported by The Georgian Times. Another recent move affecting the pensioners is recent legislation regarding the “Dry Bridge” Market in Tbilisi. This market is one way many pensioners supplement their monthly income – selling items in a flea market environment. However, the government is attempting to evict the merchants from the area. Pensioners protest weekly in downtown Tbilisi and stage larger protests on a regular basis.
This group is worth studying for its own merit as a manifestation of civil society, as well as any impact they may have on government policy. They are very interesting as it is easy to feel sympathy for them, but more importantly, they represent one of the more cohesive anti-Saakishvili movements. Many are nostalgic for the Soviet Union, which is not likely to return, but these protesters can still enact some kind of governmental change. The “Gray Revolution” in Russia brought concrete results – it is feasible that the pensioners of Georgia could achieve something similar.
I plan to live in Tbilisi Georgia, and carry out my research from fall 2007 to spring 2008, conducting field research and analysis of relevant empirical data, as well as taking courses at Tbilisi State University. Living in Georgia would allow me to conduct first person interviews with my subject to gain a direct view. I plan to stay mostly in Tbilisi but survey other urban centers such as Kutaisi and Batumi, and more rural areas for comparison. I am fluent in Russian, and plan to conduct my project primarily in that language. I plan to learn Georgian, but do not expect to be proficient until later in my stay. Starting in the fall I will make contacts with groups, such as pensioner rights groups, civil society leaders, government figures, and journalists. I will interview members and representatives to concretely understand their aims, motivations, and organizational structure. I am confident in my abilities to conduct interviews, and believe that I have the requisite experience, finding it quite easy to talk to members of the protest groups to understand the complexities of the issues at stake. I also believe my experience working as a journalist and attending the G8 summit in St. Petersburg will serve me well in my interviews.
Also starting in the fall, I will take classes at Tbilisi State University. I met with administrators of the university to explore the possibility of studying there, and have been in contact with them, but do not yet have an official letter of affiliation. I plan on studying contemporary politics, and Georgian history. I will continue interviewing and monitoring the development of the groups identified, and once I have sufficient information, I will look for trends and formulate their goals, chances of success, and the possible impacts.
I also want to examine how the pensioners of Georgia will be affected by Georgia’s international relations. Georgia is currently at a crossroads, and is attempting to align itself with the West, including joining NATO and the EU. I will look into how these attempts are changing Georgian society, and how Georgian society would change if Georgia were to be accepted into these organizations, shifting alignment even further away from the Russian sphere. Since many of the pensioners are unhappy with the current regime, I am interested in how they hope to see the foreign relations of Georgia progress. It is important to understand how a society treats its poor and elderly. For the most part, developed counties have security nets and reliable pensions for vulnerable members of society. Therefore I am interested in how groups pushing for westernization view the pensioners, and more importantly, how the pensioners feel about these organizations.
My goal for this project is to understand this segment of Georgian society, and to use them as a litmus test for Georgian society at large. I believe I have a unique chance to investigate a growing trend, and an opportunity to create dialogue in Georgia and America. I have studied this topic, and extensive experience traveling throughout both Russia and former Soviet republics. I am fluent in Russian and this proposal is suited to both my passions and my skills. The research conducted will increase understanding of Georgia, benefiting members of both Georgian society and outside scholars and policy makers.
