Hans Gutbrod
@hansgutbrod
Interest in policy, think tanks, Caucasus, dogs, ethics. Teach at Ilia State University.
Georgia's new Ambassador to Germany is not a diplomat, first & foremost, but figure that oversaw the darkest chapters of effective collapse of education in the late 1990s and early 2000s. A suggested "10 questions to Kartozia" raises these issues. ganatleba.substack.com/p/ten-questi...
A sweet act of patriotism in #Georgia -- buying #blueberry to support local production, total steal at 12 GEL at local fruit sellers. (In some EU countries it's more than three times as much!!)
hier Programm - in einer Zeit, in der freiheitlich orientierte Dozenten der Jura Fakultät gesäubert wurden (Prof Michaels bekannt); Studierende im Gefängnis; zahlreiche politische Gefangene; Gewalt. (Mir ist oben ein Fehler unterlaufen. Nicht Gala- sondern "Celebratory Dinner". Schlimm genug.)
Hier der Kommentar qualifizierter Kollegen zum wissenschaftlichen Wert wesentlicher Beiträge der Veranstaltung des MPI -- teils von deutschen Steuermitteln bezahlt.
Dabei war Angriff auf Demokratie in Georgien weithin bekannt, ebenso Rolle der TSU Jura & @ralfmichaels.bsky.social war explizit gewarnt worden. Er hatte sich über diese Warnungen hinweggesetzt. Die Rede am Anfang kam über Floskeln nicht hinweg. Hier ein Eindruck aus der heiklen Veranstaltung.
Great gift, handmade in Tbilisi -- "materials that touched the clouds", bags, totes, pouches from paragliders, signed, and the origin story, too! (Turns out I brought one of the paragliders 20 years ago, so it's coming full cycle...) @forag.studio on Instagram. #Tbilisi #Georgia
Lots of interesting details -- and here the powerful illustration of how Rustaveli is surveilled.
How Georgia's surveillance system has grown -- detailed & compelling piece by George Beridze. The tech comes from #Russia. algorithmwatch.org/en/russian-s...
Kickoff of @zegfest.bsky.social today!! #Tbilisi #Georgia #storytelling
Video going viral in #Georgia - appears to be police beating detainees. It looks bad. May explain recent arrest of few policemen & Imedi showed police violence. They'll have known it's coming & may have wanted their viewers to be prepared to see some bad stuff. www.facebook.com/share/v/18i1...
Today and tomorrow! At Ilia State University. With @gpaccardo.bsky.social & many more.
First ever open air film festival in Pankisi with some great films & people. Next week. Spread the word!! #Georgia
I had missed this bit, but saw it in @ocmedia.bsky.social 's useful roundup -- with the purges inside GD guard, lots we learn, for example just how much of a cut you apparently were asked for. More detail, and eventually the price came down a bit here: caspianpost.com/georgia/ex-g...
With detention of the Canadian tourist who brought his ADHD medication (w prescription!), apparently in jail for a month already, good reminder to read travel advisory ultra closely. (Acc to one report, he didn't have original packaging.) share.google/Jd5RFVAZyLj4...
here another interesting initiative for Independence Day / May 26th in #Georgia -- multiple wineries offering a special selection, and inviting people to toast Independence on the day itself. sakartvelostvis.com/en
How authoritarian has Georgia become at this point? The @nytimes.com tracker on authoritarianism provides 12 dimensions, many of which are more universally applicable, from democratic control, courts, rule of law. Take a look. We're now collecting input to assess how these map onto Georgia.
students of #IliaStateUniversity stood up for right thing, organized in elections (traditionally captured by state) & ran cool campaign. Lots of grim things - but this inspiring story using space available to good people. Well done!!! #Georgia #education ganatleba.substack.com/p/the-iliaun...
American historian @marcishore.bsky.social at #IliaUni talking about authoritarianism, known tropes, retro-hierarchies, scapegoating to avoid responsibility, Ionesco's rhinos roaming anew & how Vaclav #Havel's greengrocer is very relevant again.