What Georgia’s Foreign Agents Law Means for the Country’s Democracy

In May 2024, Georgia’s parliament voted to uphold a law designating many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as foreign agents. Georgian democracy advocates fear its implementation would push the country closer to Russia and thwart its hopes for future accession to the European Union (EU), pushing it further down a path of illiberal reforms.

What is Georgia law regarding foreign agents?

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The law, passed on August 1, requires nongovernmental organizations that receive 20 percent or more of their funding from abroad to officially register as “advancing the interests of a foreign power.” This would affect many of Georgia’s roughly 26,000 nongovernmental organizations; Georgian civil society organizations receive more than 90 percent of their funding from abroad, according to a 2020 report by the Asian Development Bank. Failure to register by September 1 could result in fines of up to $9,300.

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The law was reintroduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party in April 2024 after its first version failed to pass parliament in 2023 amid public outcry. On May 17, the law passed Georgia’s 150-seat parliament by an 84–4 vote, with nearly all opposition lawmakers abstaining. Less than two weeks later, the parliamentary majority overrode a veto by President Salome Zourabichvili, who is not affiliated with any party. Hundreds of Georgian nongovernmental organizations have since pledged to ignore the law; opposition lawmakers have announced they will challenge it in court.

Why was this bill signed?

Analysts say the requirement for NGOs receiving funds from abroad to register as foreign agents is a way for the Georgian Dream party to eliminate dissenting voices ahead of national elections scheduled for Oct. 26. It could potentially push Georgia closer to Russia.

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Historically, NGOs have played a key role in the revolutions that led to Georgia’s post-Soviet democratization and westward shift. CFR fellow Liana Fix notes that Russia sees these NGOs as Western puppets that do not represent the interests of the population and threaten the rule of the Georgian Dream. The law allows the government, she says, “to fundamentally break the power of civil society.”

Since its founding in 2012 by billionaire politician Bidzina Ivanishvili—who experts say is a key figure behind the law—the party has pursued policies aimed at moving Tbilisi closer to Moscow. Ivanishvili has strong economic and political ties to Russia and currently serves as honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream party, acting as its de facto leader. Russia has expressed support for the Georgian law, although Russian President Vladimir Putin says he had no influence over its passage. However, Russia stands to benefit from Georgia’s growing isolation from the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

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Do similar laws exist elsewhere?

Globally, laws regulating international funding of NGOs are not uncommon. The United States Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 was the first of its kind; more than sixty countries have implemented similar laws since 1994, although the nature of such laws in Russia and other former Soviet republics is distinct in their application to repressive purposes. The following stand out:

Russia. Moscow’s law is particularly restrictive—a third of all NGOs in Russia were closed in the first two years of a 2012 law on foreign agents. In 2022, Russia passed an additional law requiring NGOs and individuals designated as foreign agents to identify themselves as such in any public or media appearances. The Russian government maintains a highly detailed list of individuals it says are associated with foreign agents, who are banned from participating in public life, civil society, and education. In October 2023, Russia detained Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva under this law; she was released in a prisoner exchange eleven months later.

Post-Soviet states. Several former Soviet republics have enacted foreign agent laws that explicitly incorporate language from Russia. In April, Kyrgyzstan passed a law targeting foreign-funded NGOs; Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan also have such laws.

Hungary. Hungary’s 2023 Sovereignty Protection Act has also been compared to Russia’s legislation, which establishes a government body, aided by Hungarian intelligence services, that has the power to collect information on foreign-funded organizations. The European Commission said Hungary’s law “violates several provisions” of EU law and threatens fundamental human rights of EU citizens, such as freedom of speech.

What were the international consequences of this law?

On July 9, the EU announced that Georgia’s bid for membership in the bloc would be suspended and its candidate status suspended over concerns about the bill. Although formal membership talks have not yet begun, the rejection was a blow to the roughly 80 percent of Georgians who support EU membership, according to a 2023 poll by the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute. Since the bill was introduced, protests of up to 100,000 people have broken out in Georgia, sparked by fears of democratic backsliding. Analysts expect the role of international observers and foreign media to be severely limited (PDF), if not eliminated, in Georgia’s October elections.

The United States has withheld more than $95 million in aid to the Georgian government and imposed visa restrictions on dozens of Georgian Dream officials, and the EU has frozen $32 million in aid to the Georgian Defense Ministry. The EU and the United States have warned of further repercussions. “It’s a big dilemma for policymakers,” Fix says. “It’s a balancing act where Western actors are trying to empower the population, but at the same time they’re sending a signal to the government that they can’t continue on this clearly pro-Russian path.”

Marc Goedemans is an editorial intern at CFR. Will Merrow created the map for this In Brief.