Ana ANDGULADZE

Bio

I am a PhD candidate and full-time teaching assistant at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Prior to entering academia, I gained experience in both the public and non-governmental sectors. I have obtained a Master of Arts in European Political and Administrative Studies from the College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium) and a Bachelor's Degree in European Studies from the Caucasus University (Tbilisi, Georgia). My research interests include opposition to democratic backsliding, civil society, EU enlargement, and the Eastern Partnership initiative. In addition to academic publications, I have authored multiple policy-oriented pieces for various think tanks, including the European Policy Centre (EPC), the European Liberal Forum (ELF) and the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP).
 

CV

• 11/2018-Present - Teaching assistant (Full-Time) at Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.
• 6/2016-11/2018 - Policy Researcher at the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), Georgia.
• 5/2017-7/2017    - Visiting Researcher at European Policy Centre (EPC), Belgium.
• 09/2016-02/2017 - Guest Lecturer at the Caucasus University.
• 06/2015-06/2016 - Chief Specialist at the Office of the State Minister of Georgia for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Georgia.

Areas of research

• Civil society
• Opposition to democratic backsliding
• Europeanisation
• EU-Georgia relations
• EU enlargement
• The European Neighborhood Policy

Research

My research interests lie at the intersection of Europeanization (in the European Neighbourhood and Enlargement policy context) and democratic backsliding. In my doctoral thesis, I look at these issues through the perspective of Georgian civil society actors and examine their responses to (attempts of) democratic backsliding in Georgia over the last ten years. I explore the extent to which Georgian civil society organizations oppose and resist democratic backsliding from its initial, concealed phase to a more recent, visible process. My interest lies particularly in investigating the nature of their opposition and the strategies they employ in response to challenges arising within three dimensions of the rule of law: independence of the judiciary, civic space and minority rights. Within this examination, the key focus is whether the Europeanisation of opposition occurs.

Publications

Andguladze, Ana, (2024, March 12). ‘Géorgie : quand la société civile défend l’avenir européen du pays’. The Conversation.

Andguladze, Ana, (2022). ‘Georgia’s European Perspective: A Litmus Test for EU Conditionality?.’ Policy Paper No 21, European Liberal Forum.

Andguladze, Ana, Jan Beyer, Ramona Coman, and Julie Vander Meulen, (2022) "Patterns of Politicisation in the 2019 European Elections: Salience, Polarisation, and Conflict Over EU Integration in (Eastern/Western) Media Coverage." Tracing the Politicisation of the EU: The Future of Europe Debates Before and After the 2019 Elections : 187-216.

Andguladze, Ana, (2021), ‘Anti-liberal Europe’, an opposing narrative to normative power Europe in the Eastern neighbourhood? The case of Georgia, European Politics and Society.