The Georgian Society at Oxford University

20/05/2025

Join us for a roundtable discussion on China’s growing footprint in the South Caucasus!

📍Nissan Lecture Theatre, St Antony’s College
⏰ 17:00, Tuesday, 27th May

As China expands its global reach, the South Caucasus has emerged as a region of increasing strategic interest politically, economically, and in terms of security. This discussion will unpack China’s evolving role and influence, examining regional power dynamics, infrastructure and investment strategies, and the implications for local governments as well as major external actors, including the European Union and the United States. The panel will also offer a comparative perspective by contrasting China’s engagement in the South Caucasus with its more established presence in Central Asia, and what this signals for broader regional trends. Everyone is welcome!

Our panellists:

Moderator: Dr Teona Giuashvili, LSE

Professor Michael Rochlitz, Oxford

Dr Natalie Sabanadze, Chatham House

Dr Michael Cecire, Georgetown

08/05/2025

Announcing the Fourth Annual Oxford-Georgia Forum! ვაცხადებთ ოქსფორდის რიგით მეოთხე ქართულ ფორუმს!

Theme: Quo Vadis, Georgia? / საით მიდიხარ, საქართველო?

🗓 Date: 28 May 2025
🕤 Time: 9:30–18:45
📍 Venue: Investcorp Lecture Theatre, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford

This year’s Forum will focus on Georgia’s ongoing political turmoil, the recent wave of public protests, and the evolving geopolitical dynamics of the South Caucasus. We will also discuss the challenges and prospects of Georgian Studies programmes abroad.

However, the Forum will not be limited to political themes. It will also highlight research from diverse academic fields related to Georgia and showcase cultural initiatives. The programme includes the presentation of a new translation of Tamta Melashvili’s play The Dress, produced by members of the Oxford Georgian Translation Project.

Register here: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=G96VzPWXk0-0uv5ouFLPkZAS6SwCcXJItVPgmn5Sb4pUMUJYQlc1NDBVUkJWVzE1SFJLOEdZU0UzMS4u&route=shorturl

Agenda here: https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/97136ba1-62e9-44a5-8301-be4a9dcd080a/

Photo credit: Oto Gvritishvili

30/04/2025

Fireside Chat with Alex Scrivener of Democratic Security Institute

Join us at 2:30PM, Monday, 5th May, at the Syndicate room, St Antony’s College, for a fireside chat and Q&A with Alex Scrivener.

Alex is an Oxford alumnus (former Georgian Soc President) and fellow at the Democratic Security Institute (DSI) a think tank based in Tbilisi, that works on the interconnection of democracy, security and social justice in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Alex’s varied career as an analyst has also included stints at the BBC, Global Justice Now and the International Criminal Court at The Hague. He is a prolific commentator, having published articles with the Guardian and the Independent, among others. Alex will be joining us to discuss topics that will include: the unfolding political crisis in Tbilisi (as protests continue on for over 150 days) as well as the wider foreign policy implications for Georgia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe more generally. Come along for a lively discussion!

All are welcome, but the event will be in person only!

28/04/2025

The Georgian Society was recently featured in an article on student society activism at the University of Oxford by The Oxford Student newspaper! Check it out below! ❤️

Student groups at Oxford spent the first two terms organising rallies, petitions, and fundraisers to advocate for various political causes.

07/03/2025

Oxford Georgian Society Online Presentation: 'Unveiling the Wardrop Collection: A Window into 19th-Century Georgia'

Please join the Oxford Georgian Society at 12PM, March 20th, for an ONLINE presentation led by Professors Nikoloz Aleksidze and Nutsa Batiashvili (both formerly of Oxford) and Megi Kartsivadze (Oxford DPhil Candidate), where they will present the work they have completed on the Bodleian Library’s pre-eminent Georgian archive: the Wardrop Collection.

Oliver and Marjory Wardrop were British siblings known for their contributions to Georgian studies around the turn of the 20th century. Oliver was a diplomat and scholar, while Marjory was a translator and promoter of Georgian literature.

This project aims to enhance our understanding of British perceptions of Georgian society in the late 19th century, as well as the ways in which elite social networks functioned in Georgia’s two largest cities, Tbilisi and Kutaisi, through the publication of original letters and diaries dating from 1894 to the onset of Soviet occupation.

All are welcome, please register below so we have a sense of numbers:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=G96VzPWXk0-0uv5ouFLPke-Vmn-PS-tCtFyy4euyvN5UNFkzVjlHODA4WkRPRkkwMk40MjVDMDI2SS4u

The UPDATED Teams link to JOIN THE MEETING is below:
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZTUzNjZiNzUtODg5Ny00M2MwLWIyMGQtODE4YjFmNTQ1OWMy%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2249a50445-bdfa-4b79-ade3-547b4f3986e9%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22dcb7692c-541c-4cb1-a9cf-a4fa0b03ee35%22%7d

18/02/2025

Join us on Friday, 17:15, at the Nissan Lecture Theatre, St Antony's College for a timely panel discussion on the escalating democratic crisis in Georgia. Our experts will analyse the evolution of the protest movement, the prospects of the ruling Georgian Dream party, and the shifting international response.

Guest speakers:
Dr Tea Kamushadze, Georgian Studies Fellow at Oxford University, Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology, Assistant Professor at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, Invited Lecturer at Tbilisi State University

Megi Kartsivadze, Oxford DPhil Candidate, Invited lecturer, Free University of Tbilisi and Agricultural University of Georgia

Sandro Zibzibadze, Oxford MPP Student, Civil Activist and NGO Founder, Board Member of 'My Vote for the EU' Election Observation Coalition

14/02/2025

Thank you so much to all our friends who came out in the freezing cold to stand in solidarity with Ukraine, and the protests in Georgia, Slovakia and Serbia. There is no free Georgia if our region is not free, democratic and without Russian influence! 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇸🇰🇷🇸

10/02/2025

We can’t think of a better way to spend Valentine’s Day than standing in solidarity with Ukraine and protestors in Georgia, Slovakia and Serbia in our shared struggle against Russian imperialism! Friday, 12PM at the Radcliffe Camera! Flags and signs very welcome ❤️🇬🇪

13/01/2025

Join us on Friday, the 24th of January at 5PM, for a discussion with Tbilisi born, UK raised writer Leo Vardiashvili on his debut novel ‘Hard by a Great Forest.’ The event will take place in the Pavilion Room at St Antony’s College and will be followed by a coffee and tea reception.

Leo Vardiashvili, an Observer best new novelist for 2024, came to the UK as a refugee aged twelve, after fleeing civil war torn Georgia. Hard by a Great Forest is his much lauded first novel, published in 2024.

The novel’s narrator Saba, like the author, fled Georgia as a child, and returns, two decades later, to a surreal, flooded Tbilisi with escaped zoo animals roaming the streets. Searching for his disappeared father and brother, Saba follows a trail of cryptic clues, determined to put the past to rest.

All are welcome to attend. In person only.

Please register your attendance at the link below: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=G96VzPWXk0-0uv5ouFLPke-Vmn-PS-tCtFyy4euyvN5UNFdZRzZUUEM1NjczVkVXV0tHMlVGWkRZSS4u

25/12/2024

Merry Christmas to all! If you are looking for a post Christmas activity please join us ONLINE at 1PM on the 27th December for the second instalment of our new series discussing the latest developments in Georgia.

We will be joined by a special guest, Saba Brachveli of Civil Society Foundation, who will share his insight on the recently released OSCE election observer report, and the developing international response to ongoing protests in Georgia, among many other topics. There will be opportunity for a Q&A at the end of Saba’s presentation.

Microsoft Teams info:

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MjE5MWVmODMtZDI3OC00OTUxLWFhMDYtNmMwOGNlNzAzZjVk%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22cc95de1b-97f5-4f93-b4ba-fe68b852cf91%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%227f9a95ef-4b8f-42eb-b45c-b2e1ebb2bcde%22%7d

Meeting ID: 352 203 153 724
Passcode: p9ar7vA6